Here in the Great Land, we're all still becoming accustomed to not being treated like a gigantic national park. The Trump administration has opened up Alaska for mineral and energy development; the leases are being signed, some roads are planned, and things are looking promising here, as long as we can avoid having the Democrats seize power and shut everything down again.
But here's something new: Alaska may be the next big gateway to space.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and Alaska Aerospace Corp. will work together under a new agreement to jointly develop and offer spaceport services to the booming commercial rocket and satellite industry.
The partnership, announced today with a memorandum of understanding, aims to capitalize on the rapidly growing U.S. commercial space industry for suborbital and orbital launches.
The Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat Research Range, about 30 miles north of Fairbanks, and operates it under a contract with NASA. The Alaska Aerospace Corp. owns and operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, about 45 miles south of the city of Kodiak.
The agreement could lead to commercial launches at Poker Flat.
“We want to make Alaska the low-cost gateway to space,” Geophysical Institute Director Bob McCoy said. “Other launch ranges are pretty full, so customers are looking to Alaska. We have a lot of capacity.”
The Alaska Aerospace Corporation, according to its website, was established by the state to foster development of an aerospace industry, which they refer to as being "from the Last Frontier to the Final Frontier." In the aerospace business, you can't really go wrong with a Star Trek reference, after all.
There are already launch sites in Alaska, one on Poker Flats, the other south of Kodiak.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and Alaska Aerospace Corp. will work together under a new agreement to jointly develop and offer spaceport services to the booming commercial rocket and satellite industry.
The partnership, announced today with a memorandum of understanding, aims to capitalize on the rapidly growing U.S. commercial space industry for suborbital and orbital launches.
The Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat Research Range, about 30 miles north of Fairbanks, and operates it under a contract with NASA. The Alaska Aerospace Corp. owns and operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, about 45 miles south of the city of Kodiak.
The agreement could lead to commercial launches at Poker Flat.
Another win for Alaska, and for America.
There are some logistical challenges, of course, not the least of which would be moving whatever is to be shot into space from wherever it is assembled and produced, to Alaska; not an inconsiderable trip. At present there's no uninterrupted rail link. Most goods moving into the Great Land from the lower 48 come into the Port of Anchorage by ship, with a small percentage of lighter goods coming in by air freight; this is one reason Amazon's famous overnight delivery can take a week here.
This will still be a boost to Alaska's economy, if the effort to develop commercial launches is successful.
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While it remains to be seen how this all ends up, the prospect is an interesting one, and it would bring Alaska more business opportunities - and more jobs.
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