JAA Receives Grant for Cecil Field Spaceport
FAA awards grant for the development of a Spaceport Master Plan.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) has received a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop a Spaceport Master Plan for Cecil Field. This award is part of the FAA's new grant program designed to fund projects that develop and expand commercial space transportation infrastructure.
The FAA awarded $104,805 to the JAA for the Spaceport Master Plan. The project, which is estimated to cost $210,000, will begin in October and is expected to finish in December 2011.
The purpose of the Spaceport Master Plan is to set the direction for business and development related to the space industry at Cecil Field. JAA has contracted to work with RS&H, a local engineering consulting firm, on the project. The master plan project will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the FAA with the assistance of Space Florida.
"The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is very honored to be chosen as a recipient of this grant," said Todd Lindner, Senior Manager of Aviation Planning at JAA. "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first master plan directed at the development of an individual commercial spaceport, and we are hoping that this process will assist the FAA in the development of master plan standards to be used at other FAA licensed spaceports."
The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation will administer the new Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants Program. Under the law, the FAA can provide matching funds for specific projects being carried out by public entities involved in commercial space activities.
The United States' space program has three sectors - civil, military and commercial. The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation is responsible for licensing, regulating and promoting the commercial-sector space industry. Since the office was created in 1984, the FAA has issued licenses for more than 200 launches, licensed the operation of eight FAA-approved launch sites known as spaceports.
The Cecil Field airport assets include four runways with full length parallel taxiways, 40 major buildings totaling 1.5 million square feet including hangar, warehouse, industrial and general-use space, and 537,000 square yards of aircraft parking apron.