Oklahoma Spaceport May Soon Be History

THE OKLAHOMA SPACE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY - a public body created by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1999 to lead the way in bringing the space industry to the state - has not had the best success rate over the past 13-years. The broken prospects at Burns Flat leaves some locals suggesting that the spaceport has languished in space dreams long enough. It's time to quit star gazing and convert the spaceport to a more traditional regional industrial park, according to Randy Ellis writing for "The Oklahoman". Spaceport developers have hitched the hopes to the development of suborbital spaceflight, similar to that under development at Spaceport America in New Mexico and a more recent effort underway Colorado. Oklahoma's suborbital space flight corridor is the only onegaining Federal Aviation Administration -approval in the national air space system that is not within a military operating area or restricted air space. One company, Rocketplane Kistler, formerly based in Oklahoma, had plans to build a spacecraft and, as of 2006, had plans to offer commercial space flights from the OKLAHOMA SPACEPORT by 2009. Rocketplane Kistler, Global and Rocketplane Holdings declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010 but after the state provided 18-million in state tax benefits. The Burns Flat, Oklahoma spaceport site boasts a 13,503 feet long, about 300 feet wide and has an additional 1,000 feet of asphalt overrun on either end that would have been used in horizontal launch and landings for suborbital spacecraft but has lacked a tenant of any staying power. But now the spaceport pins future hope, if its state operational funding continues, on civilian commercial applications for unmanned drone flights. The commercial drone industry may experience explosive growth once the FAA establishes guidelines for their use in national air space, which is scheduled to happen in 2015 and facilities around the nation are seeking to participate.