Latest news with #SpaceFlorida
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Durham space conference to be attended by Florida agency
A leading United States space agency will attend a conference in north-east England, in an effort to forge connections with local North East Space Conference will see a delegation from Space Florida, the US state's aerospace economic development agency, speak at the event in Durham on Bone, chair of Space North East England, said the conference would act as a catalyst for firms in the businessman Ralph Dinsley, who will also be speaking at the conference, said Florida sending a high-powered delegation was a sign things were "really coming together" in the North East. Florida is home to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which has seen launches from Elon Musk's SpaceX and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin. Mr Dinsley is the founder of 3S Northumbria, which focuses on sustainability in space."It's really exciting how fast the space sector in our region has grown and how much faster it is likely to grow in the next few years with big organisations now taking a real interest in the area," he said. All five of the region's universities - Northumbria, Durham, Sunderland, Teesside and Newcastle - are also scheduled to attend the day-long University's executive director of the research and innovation service management team Jenny Taylor said: "A few years ago, it wouldn't have been the North East that Space Florida was coming to, but I think we have absolute traction now."She said Northumbria's £50m North East Space Skills and Technology Centre would become an important part of the sector's development in the coming University's senior lecturer in aerospace engineering Dr Atma Prakash said Space Florida's involvement offered potential for international collaboration. "It's a real sign of ambition for the North East," Dr Prakash said. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sen. Rick Scott urges Trump to relocate NASA headquarters to Florida
On Tuesday, Senator Rick Scott made a pitch to relocate NASA Headquarters from D.C. to Florida's Space Coast. He sent this letter, signed by the entire Florida Delegation, to the Trump Administration asking the President to consider the move. But this afternoon, NASA Watch Founder Keith Cowing told me it's unlikely. He told us, 'I've read the letter, and everybody signed it. Who's a Republican from Florida. They want to move with the Florida because a lot of space people work there. That are isolated from the political environment in DC. Okay, well, you have a big political environment down there. So, I own the lobbyists. Well, they'll just set up new offices. It'll take years.' In his letter, said the lease on Headquarters is expiring, and there's a 500-million plan for a new facility in the National Capitol Region. Scott says Space Florida has build to suit options. He called the state the undisputed leader in space operations and talked about leveraging a world-class workforce. Dr. Don Platt, an Associate Professor of Space Systems at Florida Tech said, 'We do have to remember that the people that work in NASA headquarters are people that interface with Capitol Hill. They interface with budgets, national space policy. They do not build rocket engines. They do not program software. Not engineers, they're more likely to be someone with a business background or a master's in management or finance or any of those areas.' Platt also said that if the Trump administration really was contemplating an HQ move for NASA, several states would be vying for that prize. Scott's letter follows the introduction of the CAPE Canaveral Act earlier this year. Scott co-sponsored the bill, which calls for the relocation of NASA headquarters from D.C. to Brevard County. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Floridian in Paris: Gov. DeSantis headed to Air Show in France
Gov. Ron DeSantis will fly to France next week to attend the 55th International Paris Air Show as part of a trade and business development mission, his office said June 11. 'Florida's focus on manufacturing, aviation, and the space industry already makes it a global leader in aerospace,' DeSantis said in a statement. 'Our efforts on this trip will be to promote further investment in our state and bring more high-paying jobs to Florida.' The show will run June 16–18. According to DeSantis' office, 15 Florida-based companies will attend the show, and the trip will include Florida Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly, Secretary of Transportation Jared Perdue, Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Space Florida President Rob Long, University of Central Florida President Alexander Cartwright and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President Barry Butler. There will be 'multiple project announcements, a Florida-focused business roundtable' and a 'ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Florida Pavilion,' the release from DeSantis' office says. In addition to drawing investment in Florida, the trip is also geared toward helping Florida companies boost their access to global markets. But the threat of increased tariffs by President Donald Trump could loom over the mission. Trump initially said he'd impose a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union, but on May 25 – six days before they were set to take effect – he announced he was pushing the deadline back to July 9. The delay would give the U.S. and the EU more time to reach a trade deal. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: A Floridian in Paris: Gov. DeSantis headed to Air Show
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket launches at sea? Florida-linked startups developing floating offshore launchpads
The notion of launching rockets into space from the decks of seafaring ships leaves a lot of people scratching their heads and wondering, "Why?" acknowledges Tom Marotta, CEO and founder of The Spaceport Company. But amid record-breaking launch demand, Marotta noted that U.S. commercial rocket companies have limited locations to send up rockets, such as Florida's Space Coast and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Conversely, aircraft pilots can take flight from more than 20,000 airports and airfields across the nation. 'It's great that last year, the human race had something like 250 orbital launches. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to aviation. Or compared to any other form of transportation, right?" Marotta asked. "I would love to see that number 10-Xed or 100-Xed or 1,000-Xed. And in order to do that, we need a lot more launch pads," he said. "And so, unless the risk profile and the regulatory situation changes to get those additional launch pads, the best place to build most of them is going to be out at sea," he said. Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral On Florida's Space Coast, the number of orbital launches has skyrocketed to annual records of 31 in 2021, 57 in 2022, 72 in 2023, and 93 last year. This year's ongoing total could soar to the neighborhood of 120 to 130 launches, Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said recently. That would represent an increase of 29% to 40% over 2024's total. But building new launch complexes is costly, subject to onerous environmental and regulatory permitting, and poses dangers to nearby populations. Space Florida is launching an infrastructure master plan examining the Cape Canaveral spaceport, noting "the valiant efforts to patch, tape, and repair are not sustainable in the face of record-breaking demand." "Whether it's supporting offshore launch platforms, upgrading utility systems, or enabling in-space logistics hubs, Florida can lead with a future-forward approach to spaceport development," a May 29 Space Florida statement said. Meanwhile, China — which is swiftly emerging as America's chief competitor in space — regularly launches rockets from sea. On May 19, a Chinese company launched a 66-foot Ceres-1 rocket carrying four satellites into low-Earth orbit from the deck of a ship, reported. 'At some point, you just have to start building more infrastructure. And building more infrastructure on land is blocked by acquisition costs — it's expensive to buy land on the coast. There's a lot of environmental concerns. There's a lot of regulatory concerns. And it's just risky, right? Rockets are still very risky. They blow up occasionally," Marotta said. 'You have this kind of Econ 101 problem where there's increasing demand and slowly growing supply, or limited supply. And so, The Spaceport Company is going to solve that problem by building more launch pads at sea," he said. Regarding launching rockets at sea, Long said, "conceptually, it makes a lot of sense." The aerospace development authority has had exploratory discussions with The Spaceport Company and Seagate Space, a St. Petersburg startup company. 'When you're talking from a national security perspective, it's a resilience thing. And it makes a lot of sense. Now, the only question I have — and I think they'll work through this over time to see if this is viable — is when you look back at the original Sea Launch program from 10, 15 years ago, I think there was a cost factor," Long said. "It was relatively expensive to operate that platform. I think they are probably taking those lessons to heart and coming up with more innovative solutions," he said. Long referred to Sea Launch, a partnership between Boeing and three companies in Russia, Ukraine and Norway. Starting in 1999, the firm launched three dozen 196-foot specialized rockets for commercial communications companies from the deck of a hulking, modified oil drilling rig based in Long Beach, California. But by 2009, beset by fiscal woes, Sea Launch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — reporting more than $2 billion in debts. A subsequent $350 million lawsuit brought by Boeing against its Russian and Ukrainian partners, coupled by Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, helped spell the end of the venture. The Spaceport Company — which staffs a design-engineering-fabrication shop on Merritt Island — debuted in 2022 and has launched five suborbital rockets to date. In August 2024, the firm launched an Evolution Space interceptor missile from its launchpad vessel — the Talking Heads-named Once in a Lifetime — in a Department of Defense-funded hypersonic test mission in the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles south of the Mississippi shore. Now, the company is planning a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory-contracted mission to launch a sounding rocket carrying an atmospheric research payload into the ionosphere, which extends from 37 to 190 miles above the Earth's surface. That mission should occur during the second quarter of next year in the Gulf. Once in a Lifetime is a retired U.S. Navy ship measuring 180 feet long. Marotta said Port Canaveral proved too expensive, so the vessel is based at Port Bienville in Mississippi, near New Orleans. But he said his company has "a lot of interest" in near-future mobilization from Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale or other Florida ports for Atlantic Ocean missions. Looking to the future, Marotta said The Spaceport Company has completed a design for a ship that could support orbital launches and larger rockets. The firm is having conversations with launch providers, and he hopes to deploy the new watercraft within one or two years. Another offshore launch company, Seagate Space, just incorporated in January. The fledgling firm is establishing its headquarters at the St. Pete Innovation District on the St. Petersburg waterfront. Co-founder and CEO Michael Anderson is based in Tampa, while co-founder and chief revenue and operations officer Sean Fortener is in Jacksonville — "we've got both coasts covered right now," Anderson said. The duo met while working for Crowley Maritime, which is headquartered in Jacksonville. 'There's this emerging challenge on the Cape with actually getting the through-put from a launch perspective. It's not necessarily the number of pads that's the limiting factor. But it's the ability to have them all active at a given point in time,' Anderson said. Seagate Space's senior aerospace advisor is Jim Maser, who served as president of Sea Launch from 2001 to 2006. He left Sea Launch to briefly become president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, which was then a startup that had yet to successfully launch a rocket into orbit. The early stage company is refining preliminary engineering of an offshore launch platform to host liquid-fueled orbital rockets, with hopes of wrapping up assembly, dockside testing and sea trials within one year. Which launch providers may team up with Seagate Space? Rather than initially pursue aerospace giants such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance, Anderson said his company is focusing on "that next tier of players" of smaller companies developing carbon-fiber rockets, 3D-printed rockets and other innovations. "We've entered into a co-development agreement with a U.S.-based launch service provider and are working on the engineering phase of the project. We're holding off on revealing the partner for now, as we're coordinating a joint announcement expected in the coming months. This marks a major milestone in advancing offshore launch capabilities," Fortener said in a June 2 email. Officials with The Spaceport Company and Seagate Space will speak during a June 21 fireside chat titled "New Developments for Ocean-Based Launch" at the International Space Development Conference in Orlando. Seagate Space spelled out the challenge China presents as America's rapidly emerging space rival. "Since 2019, China has completed 16 offshore launches, deploying nearly 100 satellites using four different rockets — the Long March 11, Jielong-3, Ceres-1, and Gravity-1. Their message is clear: mobile, offshore infrastructure is now a core part of their national space strategy," the company said on X. "At Seagate Space, we don't see this as surprising — but it does create a sense of urgency. What was once seen as an alternative is now proving to be a strategic imperative. Sea launch is the future of space access — and the U.S. can't afford to fall behind," Seagate Space said. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Offshore rocket launch platforms may be wave of future for Florida
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Project Beep, a confidential airspace firm, to lease land for $247M Merritt Island facility
Space Florida has authorized leasing 25 acres on northern Merritt Island for Project Beep, an undisclosed aerospace company that plans to build a future quarter-billion-dollar facility and create about 1,000 jobs just outside NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Little information has been publicly released about this confidential company. "It captures the increasing pace of activity around the world's busiest spaceport," Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said during the authority's May 28 board of directors meeting. "Obviously, we welcome this growth and are excited about the bright future for the space industry here in Florida." By unanimous vote, Space Florida authorized completion of negotiations for a 30-year Project Beep lease for the last two remaining parcels of the opening phase of Exploration Park, which is managed in partnership with NASA. "Project Beep intends to set up manufacturing, research and development, laboratory, warehousing and office facilities to support aerospace operation at Cape Canaveral Spaceport," said Howard Haug, Space Florida executive vice president, treasurer and chief investment officer. "The project estimates total investment of $247 million and expects creating approximately 1,000 jobs at industry-average wages." During a post-meeting press conference, Long said Project Beep officials are still looking at building structural designs, and Space Florida will work with the mystery company on that topic during the next several months. Statewide, Space Florida reported it is pursuing 204 business opportunities. The Space Coast leads the way with 51 potential deals, followed by Central Florida with 28 opportunities and the western Panhandle with 24. The Space Florida meeting kicked off 3½ hours after SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center into low-Earth orbit on another Starlink mission. The liftoff marked the 45th orbital rocket launch thus far this year from Florida's Space Coast. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Florida to lease land for Project Beep aerospace firm, 1,000 jobs
