Construction And Refurbishment May Proceed At Launch Complexes
36 And 46
Space Florida said Friday that it has secured Real Property
Licenses for Space Launch Complexes 46 and 36 at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station. As a result, the 45th Space Wing now grants Space
Florida full rights to proceed with construction and refurbishment
work at either launch location.
"Within the past year, we have been working diligently with the
45th Space Wing and the Navy to secure full rights to these
complexes," noted Mark Bontrager, vice president of Space Florida's
Spaceport Operations. "Through a mutual trust with both entities,
we can now fully pursue build-out of these sites for commercial
use. This will help to open up additional opportunities for Florida
to take full advantage of the rapidly emerging commercial space
marketplace. Having additional domestic launch sites ready for
commercial utilization will also ensure the U.S. remains
competitive from a global perspective."
These licenses are in line with the 45th Space Wing's mission,
assuring access to the higher frontier. "This will help us better
execute that mission. It's a win-win-win for the Air Force, the
state of Florida, and the nation," said Col. Ed Wilson, 45th Space
Wing Commander.
Artist's Rendering SLC-36
Now that Real Property Licenses are secured for both sites,
Space Florida will work with the FAA to conduct all necessary due
diligence required to secure a Launch Site Operators License for
each complex. This process is anticipated to take approximately 180
days. During this timeframe an Explosive Site Plan for SLC-36 will
also be reviewed by the Air Force Safety Center and the Department
of Defense Explosive Safety Board.
To date, Space Florida has conducted corrosion control and
maintenance efforts on the Mobile Service Tower at SLC-46, and
preliminary engineering studies show that further refurbishment of
SLC-46 is needed to ready it for full commercial launch operations.
With the Real Property License fully secured, Space Florida can now
utilize its resources - including a special $1.1 million
appropriation by Senator Bill Nelson through NASA - to prepare the
site for an interested launch customer whose identity is currently
protected under Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Mobile Service Tower SLC-46
In December 2009, a Joint Use Agreement was signed between the
Navy and Space Florida to grant full utilization of the site by
either party, as needed. There is no anticipated naval use for the
site at this time.
The last active use of SLC-46 was in 1999 when a communications
satellite was launched on an Athena I. The last recorded launch at
SLC-36 was in February 2005, when an Atlas 3B launched a classified
NRO payload off of pad 36B.