USSF Prioritizing Modernization of Spaceports Written 24 October 2023
Space Launch Delta 45 Supports Successful Falcon 9 Transporter-3 Launch, January 13, 2022. | Credit: U.S. Space Force photo by Joshua Conti; Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain
Space News reports that the need to “modernize US spaceports has been discussed for years, but major upgrades have yet to materialize.” With $1.3 billion in projected “funding for spaceport improvements, the Space Force is now trying to move these plans forward, identifying the most critical areas needing attention in the near-term.” Space Systems Command Program Executive Director Brigadier General Kristin Panzenhagen said, “There’s a significant effort to define what we need to be able to support the capacity and the pace of launch that our nation needs.” Based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, Panzenhagen in June “assumed command of Space Launch Delta 45, and oversees the nation’s busiest spaceport on the Florida coast.” Speaking last week at the AFCEA Space Industry Days conference in Los Angeles, Panzenhagen “expressed optimism that initiatives to bring East Coast and West Coast spaceports into the future could soon become reality.” The Space Force has “conducted a detailed analysis of spaceport requirements given the increased pace of commercial space launch, she said.”
Full Story (Space News)