James Dean

FLORIDA TODAY

New launch pads, a solar farm or research facilities could be built on Kennedy Space Center land that NASA will make available in an announcement Thursday, June 2.

The spaceport will invite companies to develop parts of nearly 5,000 acres pegged for different uses under the spaceport’s master plan.

The goal is to continue KSC’s transition after the shuttle program into a “multi-user spaceport” enabling more than just NASA missions.

“It opens us up to a variety of new potential partners, and allows us to continue the mission that we have of being a multi-user spaceport, and to help us grow the technology and the versatility that we have here at the Kennedy Space Center,” said Tom Engler, deputy director of the Center Planning and Development office.

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Engler said KSC’s “notice of availability,” which will remain open for two years, opens land for three new uses:

Vertical Launch: KSC’s master plan carves out room for two more vertical launch complexes, numbered 48 and 49, that bookend the center’s two major pads, 39A and 39B.

NASA just last year solicited interest in the new launch sites and concluded that “the market wasn’t sufficiently mature to make the commitment NASA sought.”

But interest has grown since then, Engler said, particularly among an emerging class of small rockets being developed to launch small satellites into orbit.

KSC has a small pad, 39C, that could support launches by companies such as Rocket Lab or Firefly Space Systems. But as flight rates grow, companies might want another facility.

“What we think we’re going to see is significant interest by that small launcher community to build potentially a launch pad in addition to the 39C capability that we have,” said Engler. “It allows companies to be more versatile and have options.

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Renewable Energy: KSC is home to a 60-acre Florida Power and Light facility that features 35,000 solar panels able to generate 10 megawatts of electricity, or enough to serve about 1,100 homes.

Roughly another 1,000 acres could be made available for similar projects that would support national goals to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Research and Development: KSC engineers and scientists now study ways to improve spacecraft launch and processing, space gardening and how explorers could "live off the land" on other planetary surfaces.

New R&D initiatives would have to be consistent with the space center’s overall mission to win approval.

All together, KSC's master plan designates 2,675 of the spaceport’s 140,000 acres for those three activities, though not all of that would be developed.

Thursday's announcement also will keep open 2,300 acres that KSC first made available in 2014 for three other categories of work: launch operations and support; assembly, testing, and processing; and an area for vertical rocket landings.

Proposals will be reviewed by NASA and subject to environmental review. Any projects would be entirely privately funded, with no NASA investment.

As a result, the opportunity could spawn major projects adding important new pieces to KSC’s portfolio, or nothing at all.

“We’re prepared for whatever comes our way,” said Engler.

KSC is opening up the vacant land after already finding partners for the major facilities that NASA missions no longer needs after the shuttle's retirement in 2011. For example, SpaceX has leased pad 39A, Boeing is building crew capsules in a former shuttle hangar, and Space Florida now operates the shuttle runway.

“We’ve pretty much exhausted our excess capacity here on center,” said Engler. “Now what we’re doing is expanding that to more completely diversify the multi-user spaceport.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 orjdean@floridatoday.com.And follow on Twitter at@flatoday_jdeanand on Facebook atfacebook.com/jamesdeanspace.