Tech to help lead research center

Florida Tech is a core member of a partnership that the Federal Aviation Administration this week named to lead a new research center focused on commercial spaceflight. The Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation will be based in New Mexico on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, but Florida space officials say the state appears well positioned to receive a share of its research dollars.

"This center is designed to serve as a research support structure for those commercial space companies, here in Florida as well as other locations around the nation," said Frank Kinney, vice provost for research at Melbourne-based Florida Tech. Local space officials also see the center as part of the long-term effort to help Kennedy Space Center broaden its expertise beyond NASA launches to include a stronger emphasis on research and development.

"It's an opportunity to transform some of work done that's being out there at Kennedy Space Center from simply launch operations to more flight test as well as research," Kinney said. The center's formation comes as NASA is proposing to rely on commercial taxis to fly its astronauts to low Earth orbit, hoping to reduce launch costs and support an emerging private spaceflight market. The FAA, which provides licenses for commercial launches and spaceports, plans to fund the center with $1 million annually over the next five years. Member institutions must match that money. 

Space Florida, the state agency charged with promoting the aerospace industry, in a board meeting this week committed $2 million over three years to provide those matching funds for Florida-based research. "I believe this will provide yet another powerful tool in ensuring Florida remains at the forefront of upcoming global commercial space initiatives," said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. Other state partners along with Florida Tech include the University of Florida and the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, or FCAAP, based at Florida State University.