Florida Well Positioned to Take Advantage of
Emerging Space Trends
By Tom Baine, ARC
Program Manager
As we continue in our third year, the Employ Florida
Banner Center for Aviation and Aerospace, also known
as the Aerospace Resource Center (ARC), continues to
collaborate with the industry, via focus groups and
the Aviation and Aerospace Advisory Council, to
provide training for current and future aviation and
aerospace needs here in Florida.
Aerospace technology is moving forward at an
incredible pace, and the private aerospace industry
in Florida is well positioned to advantage of the
post-space shuttle world. While NASA will still be
a critical part of the space industry well into the
future, the private sector is quickly evolving to
expand the aerospace market here in Florida. As
Frank DiBello, the new president of Space Florida,
stated in The News Service of Florida last
month (and was
reported by the Orlando Sentinel in
October), “we’re going to replace a watermelon size
volume of activity with a lot of apples and oranges
and other smaller bites.” The private sector is
rapidly evolving to accommodate the needs of the
aerospace industry and smaller private entities will
be able to share in activities and functions
previously available only to NASA.
Our very own Cecil Field may become part of the
anticipated
flurry of private space activity, according to the
Jacksonville Aviation Authority
web site. Bob Simpson, the senior director of
Cecil Field, and JAA spokesman Michael Stewart, told
reporters in mid-November that a spaceport license
required for a commercial spaceport is “officially
imminent.” Environmental work has been completed
and approach corridors are expected to be officially
sanctioned by the FAA. Cecil Field is the only
airport in Florida that meets the unique criteria
for becoming a commercial spaceport in that it has a
runway more than 10,000 feet long and 200 feet wide
with no commercial passenger service activity. Sir
Richard Branson, of Virgin Galactic, has visited
Cecil Field, and other private space entities are
considering the airport as well. If licensed, Cecil
Field could become the 8th private
spaceport in the country.
The ARC continues to
focus on the educational and training needs of the
aviation and aerospace industries in Florida.
We remain committed to maintaining a dynamic
curricula that evolves with the ever-changing
workforce needs of these industries. The ARC
is committed to being the aviation and aerospace
workforce education and training resource for the
State of Florida.
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