Press Releases
Mission Accomplished: FAA Approves Launch Site Operator License For Spaceport Camden
Washington,
December 20, 2021
WOODBINE, Ga. – Camden County, Georgia, a rocket testing location and alternate launch site for the Apollo program, has reclaimed its aerospace heritage with the issuance of a launch site operator license (LSOL) by the Federal Aviation Administration for Spaceport Camden. Spaceport Camden is a multi user, vertical lift, commercial launch site on the Atlantic seaboard that will support up to 12 small vehicle launches per year. “Opportunity - that is what Spaceport Camden’s LSOL is providing Camden County. Our already world-class economy is now diversifying in a way that will catapult Georgia into the 21st century and beyond,” said U.S. Representative Earl L. “Buddy” Carter. “I am immensely proud of Spaceport Camden for their hard work and innovation that made this possible. With this announcement, Georgia’s First District has solidified itself as a global leader.” “In the 20th century Camden County was declared the ‘Gateway to Space.’ With this license, we have retained that title again in the 21st century,” said Steve Howard, Camden County Administrator and Spaceport Camden executive project lead. “This once in a generation opportunity will provide a new frontier of economic prosperity for Camden, the region and the state of Georgia. Georgia is part of the new space race, and we will become one of the leaders,” added Howard. “It has been long time coming, but Camden County is immensely proud of this accomplishment. With this license, Spaceport Camden offers coastal Georgia over 100 miles of opportunity,” said Board of County Commissioners Chairman, Gary Blount. “We are no longer a one-dimensional economy solely reliant on the brave sailors and contractors at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay for economic prosperity,” added Blount. Spaceport Camden becomes the thirteenth licensed spaceport in the United States, but just the third vertical lift facility on the East Coast. Vertical lift comprises the lion’s share of commercial space activity and low latitude east coast launch sites are preferred due to the extra velocity provided by the rotation of the Earth. Located below 31 degrees of latitude, Spaceport Camden takes advantage of free boost velocity from the earth’s rotation to maximize payload and minimize fuel necessary to reach orbit. As a result, Spaceport Camden’s location offers similar launch characteristics to Cape Canaveral, the world’s busiest spaceport. Camden County is the ideal location to meet growing launch demand from the commercial space industry - a $447 billion industry that Bank of America predicts will grow to $3 trillion by 2047. Not only does Camden County have a highly trained military workforce that can transition upon retirement to employment into the commercial space industry, the surrounding area has transportation infrastructure such as roads and rail that can provide support to the investment community. Spaceport Camden comes online of increasing demand for vertical lift launch capacity. A recent study for the Pentagon found that the majority of US Spaceports are unsuitable for future launch needs because they are horizontal, not vertical launch sites like Spaceport Camden. The study notes, “[d]ue to the inherent performance limitations of horizontal launch, the future space economy will be dependent on vertical launch.” The study also found that without additional vertical lift capacity at sites like Spaceport Camden “…the U.S. will still remain precariously dependent on a handful of key spaceports – a dependency that, if not resolved, will undermine U.S. interests strategically and commercially in the next decade.” Launch providers seeking to utilize Spaceport Camden will still need to have their individual vehicles approved by the FAA to launch from Spaceport Camden - a standard requirement under the agency’s rules. All launch vehicles must be individually licensed. |
