NSS Florida Space Coast Chapter

The following letter was submitted to Florida Today by NSS member Edward Ellegood. He was writing in response to criticism of NASA’s tentative plans to build a new commercial launch complex. Edward attended the NASA public hearings last week. You can read the published version of this letter in the March 5, 2008 edition of Florida Today or read it online at FloridaToday.com

Pentagon’s red tape problem at the Cape

The idea of building a new commercial launch complex on Kennedy Space Center has caused many opponents to suggest locating it on Air Force property at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

This may be feasible, but it defeats the intent.

The two currently proposed sites on KSC may not be perfect, but they have a huge advantage over an Air Force location — no Air Force.

The KSC sites would allow a greater role for the FAA and a state or county empowered spaceport authority, including streamlined processes for commercial access, and potentially the use of an FAA-approved range safety system instead of the notoriously complex Eastern Range run by the Air Force.

This airport-like approach was envisioned nearly two decades ago when the state established the Spaceport Florida Authority, but the Air Force never embraced the concept.

The Air Force’s resistance to change is the reason new commercial — and even new military — launch programs avoid the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Eastern Range.

Edward Ellegood
National Space Society
Space Coast Chapter

Cocoa Beach