A Launch Evolution

How economic development has fueled the next great era in space exploration 

From 1981 to 2011, Brevard County watched 135 space shuttle missions launch from Cape Canaveral. This 30-year span saw an average of 4.5 flights per year for this iconic program. 

Today, Space Launch Delta 45, formerly known as the 45th Space Wing, is preparing for more than 50 flights per year, with 53 space missions projected in 2021 alone. How did this launch evolution happen? A unique blueprint of economic development, community spirit, and decades of history have helped construct the Space Coast launch scene of today.

As early as 2005, leaders from the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) traveled to California to meet with the leaders of SpaceX, including Elon Musk, about the benefits of conducting assembly, checkout, and launch operations in Brevard County. Fast forward nearly two decades and SpaceX launches light up the sky on the regular from Cape Canaveral, including the first crewed launches since 2011, officially marking human spaceflight’s return to the United States.

In February 2006, the EDC announced plans to locate final assembly and checkout operations of NASA's crew exploration vehicle (CEV) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Today this CEV is known as Lockheed Martin’s Orion. It marked the first time the Space Coast would provide assembly and checkout services for a major human space launch program. On January 14, 2021 Lockheed Martin completed assembly and testing of the Orion Artemis I spacecraft and transferred possession to NASA for final preparations for its mission to the moon.

In October of 2011, the EDC announced that The Boeing Company’s CST-100 commercial crew capsule (Starliner) would be developed and manufactured at KSC, becoming the first spacecraft to be manufactured and developed locally. Boeing’s impact on the Space Coast continues to flourish – in 2019 the company announced its Space and Launch headquarters would relocate to Titusville.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V is a true Space Coast staple. More than 15 years of 100% mission success made Atlas V the choice to carry Boeing’s Starliner capsule and its astronauts to the ISS. ULA’s primary launch operation here on the Space Coast was a major factor in the 2011 announcement by the EDC that Boeing would build its Starliner at KSC. 

In 2015, the EDC announced that Blue Origin would design, manufacture, and launch its New Glenn Rocket from Florida’s Space Coast. This marked the first time all aspects of commercial spacecraft development and launch would be completed within Brevard County. 

Since the announcement, Blue Origin has built over 1 million square feet of manufacturing, test, and launch facilities only 9 miles from the launch pad. The complex is also home to their launch and mission control centers.

Next Launch?

spacecoastlaunches.com/launch-list/  

Lynda L. Weatherman, is president & CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, which is responsible for the attraction of new business and investment and retention of existing industry throughout the Space Coast. Under Ms. Weatherman’s leadership, the EDC has secured over $1.8B in capital investment from the announcement of over 50 business development projects over a 10-year period.

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