Spaceport Camden

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Spaceport Camden
Spaceport Camden logo.png
Summary
LocationWoodbine, Georgia
Coordinates 30°55′39″N81°30′53″W / 30.92750°N 81.51472°W / 30.92750; -81.51472
Website spaceportcamden.us

Spaceport Camden is a licensed spaceport in Camden County, Georgia, near the city of Woodbine. The site tested the largest solid rocket motor ever fired as part of the Apollo Program and Camden County, Georgia was originally considered as a NASA launch site in the 1960s. Spaceport Camden began limited development as a rocket launch facility in early 2014, with its first launch taking place in August 2017, reaching 5,000 ft (1,524 m).

Contents

History

During the early 1960s, Camden County in Georgia was considered by NASA as a potential launch site for the Apollo program. [1] A site on Merritt Island, Florida, near the existing Cape Canaveral launch pads, was selected instead; [2] however some rocket testing for the Apollo program took place on the Georgia site. [3]

In November 2012, the Camden County Joint Development Authority voted unanimously to "explore developing an aero-spaceport facility" at an Atlantic coastal site to support both horizontal and vertical launch operations, in hopes of attracting a SpaceX launch facility. [4] SpaceX selected a location near Brownsville, Texas for its launch site. [5] However, in June 2015 the county authorized environmental studies, purchasing a former industrial location used by Bayer CropScience and solid rocket motor manufacturer Thiokol to pursue the development of a spaceport. [2] [6] At the time, it was believed that the site, comprising 400 acres (160 ha), [7] could see launches begin by 2020. [2]

In March 2017, despite opposition from Cumberland Island residents concerned about disturbance to Cumberland Island National Seashore and the possibility of injuries and damage from launches, [3] and belief that the Federal Aviation Administration was unlikely to authorize launches due to the fact that launch trajectories would pass over inhabited areas, [8] the Georgia General Assembly approved legislation offering limited liability protection against spaceflight participant injury claims related to launches from the proposed spaceport, [9] and in May Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 1. [10] A 2017 study by Georgia Southern University determined that the spaceport could provide $22.5 million in yearly revenue to the region. [11]

In March 2018, the FAA, the US regulatory agency for spaceports, approved the "draft status" of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the spaceport. [12] On 20 December 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a launch site operator license for Spaceport Camden with a flight trajectory limited to a 100-degree azimuth. [13] [14]

In March 2022, the project was rejected by Camden county voters in a referendum. [15] Despite this, county representatives nonetheless attempted to move forward with the acquisition of the property while executing numerous legal maneuvers to invalidate the referendum, including an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court on whether the voters had any right to override the county's decisions under the state constitution's Home Rule.

In February 2023, the court unanimously agreed that the constitution allows the electorate to amend or repeal ordinances, resolutions, or regulations, and that the referendum was subsequently valid and enforceable. [16]

Facilities and operations

External image
Searchtool.svg The Vector-R is launched at Spaceport Camden. [17]

The planned facilities at Spaceport Camden include a vertical launch site and a control center, with provision for viewing facilities. [3] Up to twelve launches and twelve landings a year would be permitted. [3] The construction of an innovation and research park at the spaceport has been proposed to attract additional technology-based industry and create jobs. [18]

In April 2017, Vector Space Systems announced that they would use the Spaceport Camden site to conduct a suborbital rocket test that summer. [19] On 2 August 2017, the first launch from Spaceport Camden, of a Vector-R rocket, successfully took place. [20]

In 2018, ABL Space Systems signed a lease with Camden County, Georgia for future operations in Spaceport Camden. [21]

On 20 December 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an operator license for Spaceport Camden. [22] [23]

Launch history

LaunchDate (UTC)VehiclePayloadLaunch padResultRemarks
12 August 2017, 16:15 Vector-R Two customer payloads; imaging and medicinal researchHarriett's Bluff RoadSuccessSuborbital flight; launch took place from a trailer; the peak altitude was about 5,000 ft (1,524 m). [24] [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden County, Georgia</span> County in Georgia, United States

Camden County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2020 Census, the population was 54,768. Its county seat is Woodbine, and the largest city is St. Marys. It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created February 5, 1777. It is the 11th largest county in the state of Georgia by area, and the 41st largest by population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallops Flight Facility</span> American spaceport in Virginia

Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Norfolk. The facility is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and primarily serves to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other Federal agencies. WFF includes an extensively instrumented range to support launches of more than a dozen types of sounding rockets; small expendable suborbital and orbital rockets; high-altitude balloon flights carrying scientific instruments for atmospheric and astronomical research; and, using its Research Airport, flight tests of aeronautical research aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska</span> Commercial rocket launch facility in Alaska

The Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA), formerly known as the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), is a dual-use commercial and military spaceport for sub-orbital and orbital launch vehicles. The facility is owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a public corporation of the State of Alaska, and is located on Kodiak Island in Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of Commercial Space Transportation</span>

The Office of Commercial Space Transportation is the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that approves any commercial rocket launch operations — that is, any launches that are not classified as model, amateur, or "by and for the government" — in the case of a U.S. launch operator and/or a launch from the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark</span> Airport in Oklahoma, United States of America

The Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark, also known as the Oklahoma Air & Space Port is a spaceport in Washita County, Oklahoma, near the town of Burns Flat. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a license to the site in June 2006 to the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) to "oversee the takeoff and landing of suborbital, reusable launch vehicles." It also boasts the first space flight corridor, "The Infinity One"—which is about 152 miles long and averages about 50 miles wide—that is not in restricted airspace and does not interfere with Military Operations Areas (MOAs). The facility is an FAA licensed launch site, one of only 12 in the U.S. Individual operators must also secure a separate license in order to make space flights from the facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaceport America</span> Spaceport located in New Mexico, U.S.

Spaceport America, formerly the Southwest Regional Spaceport, is an FAA-licensed spaceport located on 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin 45 miles (72 km) north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Truth or Consequences. With Virgin Galactic's launch of the VSS Unity, with three people aboard, on May 22, 2021, New Mexico became the third US state to launch humans into space after California and Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn Ranch</span> Spaceport operated by Blue Origin

Corn Ranch, or Launch Site One, is a spaceport in the West Texas town of Van Horn, Texas. The 670-square-kilometer (165,000-acre) land parcel was purchased by Internet billionaire Jeff Bezos. Current launch license and experimental permits from the US government Federal Aviation Administration authorize flights of New Shepard rockets. The first flight test took place on November 13, 2006 with the goal of providing commercial tourist flights. Blue Origin’s first human spaceflight launched at Corn Ranch on July 20, 2021. The flight, dubbed NS-16, carried founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, test pilot and Mercury 13 member Wally Funk, and Dutchman Oliver Daemen on a suborbital flight aboard New Shepard 4.

Cecil Airport is a public airport and commercial spaceport located in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and services military aircraft, corporate aircraft, general aviation, and air cargo. The Florida Army National Guard's primary Army Aviation Support Facility and the U.S. Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) are also located here, the former operating CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Blackhawk, UH-72 Lakota and C-12 Huron aircraft, and the latter operating the MH-65C Dolphin helicopter.

St. Marys Airport was a public use airport located two nautical miles north of the central business district of St. Marys, a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the St. Mary's Airport Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0</span> Rocket launch complex on Wallops Island, Virginia, U.S.

Launch Pad 0 (LP-0), also known as Launch Complex 0 (LC-0), or Launch Area 0 (LA-0), is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, in the United States. MARS is located adjacent to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), which ran the launch complex until 2003. WFF continues to provide various support services to MARS launches under contract with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 46</span> Florida state government-operated space vehicle launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

The Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46), previously Launch Complex 46 (LC-46), is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station operated under license by Space Florida previously used for Athena rocket launches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Spaceflight Federation</span> Private spaceflight industry group

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is a private spaceflight industry group, incorporated as an industry association for the purposes of establishing ever higher levels of safety for the commercial human spaceflight industry, sharing best practices and expertise, and promoting the growth of the industry worldwide. Issues that the Commercial Spaceflight Federation work on include, but are not limited to, airspace issues, FAA regulations and permits, industry safety standards, public outreach, and public advocacy for the commercial space sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starbase</span> SpaceX private launch site

Starbase is a spaceport, production, and development facility for Starship rockets, located at Boca Chica, Texas, United States. It is in construction in the late 2010s and 2020s by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX facilities</span> Launch facilities used by SpaceX

As of 2023, SpaceX operates four launch facilities: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Brownsville South Texas Launch Site. Space Launch Complex 40 was damaged in the AMOS-6 accident in September 2016 and repair work was completed by December 2017. SpaceX believes that they can optimize their launch operations, and reduce launch costs, by dividing their launch missions amongst these four launch facilities: LC-39A for NASA launches, SLC-40 for United States Space Force national security launches, SLC-4E for polar launches, and South Texas Launch Site for commercial launches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vector-R</span> Launch vehicle

Vector-R is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle under development by the American aerospace company Vector Launch to cover the commercial small satellite launch segment (CubeSats). Vector Launch went bankrupt in December 2019 and re-emerged in October 2020. Two prototypes were launched in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutherland spaceport</span> Proposed spaceport of the United Kingdom

The Sutherland spaceport, also known as Space Hub Sutherland or UKVL Sutherland, is planned to be the first spaceport of the United Kingdom. It would be operated by a commercial entity and would employ 40 people. The spaceport will host a launch vehicle called Orbex Prime. The spaceport will be located on the A' Mhòine peninsula northwest of Tongue village, Sutherland, Scotland. As of November 2022, construction was set to begin in late 2022, with a first launch expected before the end of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority</span>

The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA), commonly known as Virginia Space, is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia focused on bringing commercial spaceflight to Virginia and providing education in aerospace technologies across the Commonwealth. Created in 1995 in the name of states’ rights by the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Space owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, located within the Wallops Flight Facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABL Space Systems</span> American space launch technology company

ABL Space Systems is an American private company, based in El Segundo, California, undertaking launch vehicle and launch systems technology development using CNC and 3D printing and minimized launch operations. The company manufactures its components in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ Dilsaver, Lary M. (2004). Cumberland Island National Seashore: A History of Conservation Conflict. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press. p. 63. ISBN   0-8139-2268-2 . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Chapman, Dan (30 July 2015). "Camden County sky high on spaceport plan, but others want it grounded". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Landers, Mary (25 February 2017). "Camden spaceport promises jobs, threatens islands". Savannah Morning News . Savannah, GA. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Dickson, Terry (16 November 2012). "Camden County wants to open Georgia's first spaceport". The Florida Times-Union . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Berger, Eric (4 August 2014). "Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "FAA moving forward on proposed spaceport". The Brunswick News . Brunswick, GA. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Karkaria, Urvaksh; Dave Williams (31 July 2017). "Go for launch: Rocket receives approval for Georgia's first commercial spaceport". Atlanta Business Chronicle . Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "FAA provides update on status of proposed Georgia spaceport". Athens Banner-Herald . Athens, GA. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Williams, Dave (23 March 2017). "Spaceport Camden bill gains final passage in General Assembly". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Barger, Malissa (2018). "HB 1 - Space Flight". Georgia State University Law Review Reading Room. Atlanta, Georgia. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Study: Spaceport Camden could generate more than $22M in revenue each year". WJXT . Jacksonville, FL. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. ↑ https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/03/12/georgias-spaceport-dream-takes-giant-leap-toward.html
  13. ↑ "Record of Decision for Spaceport Camden Final Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). 20 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "FAA grants operator license for Spaceport Camden". 20 December 2021.
  15. ↑ Landers, Mary (4 January 2023). "Spaceport project in limbo but spending continues". The Current. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia (7 February 2023). Decision S22A0837. CAMDEN COUNTY v. SWEATT, et al.
  17. ↑ Russell, Kendall (4 August 2017). "Vector Launches First Ever Rocket from Spaceport Camden". Satellite Today. Via Satellite. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Camden County promotes innovation, research park". WJXT. Jacksonville, FL. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  19. ↑ "Georgia's Space Industry Gets Ready To Blast Off". WABE. Atlanta, GA. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  20. ↑ Henning, Allyson (2 August 2017). "Camden Spaceport sees 1st launch". WJXT. Jacksonville, FL. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "ABL Space Systems Signs Lease with JDA to Begin Operations in Camden County". Business Wire. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "Record of Decision for Spaceport Camden Final Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). 20 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "FAA grants operator license for Spaceport Camden". 20 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "Vector Successfully Launches First Ever Rocket from Spaceport Camden". PR Newswire. Cision. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  25. ↑ Dickson, Terry (3 August 2017). "Small rocket flies from planned Spaceport Camden". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  26. ↑ Henning, Allyson (2 August 2017). "Camden Spaceport sees 1st launch". Jacksonville, FL: WJXT. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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