TECH

KSC passes on new commercial launch pads

James Dean
FLORIDA TODAY

No commercial launch pads will be built at Kennedy Space Center, at least not for a while.

After a review of proposals, NASA has decided not to award either of two potential sites for development of commercial vertical launch pads that had been dubbed pads 48 and 49.

The agency determined "the market wasn’t sufficiently mature to make the commitment NASA sought" when it solicited proposals in June.

KSC did not disclose how many proposals it received, and said it would revisit the potential for new pads if market conditions change.

"While no decision has been made at this time to issue another (Announcement for Proposals), as demand grows, Kennedy will look to make the sites available for commercial partnerships in the future," the center said in a press release.

Kennedy has two pads, 39A and 39B, originally built to support launches of Saturn V rockets and then space shuttles.

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NASA plans to launch its next exploration rocket, the Space Launch System, from pad 39B as soon as 2018.

The agency has leased pad 39A to SpaceX, which plans to use the facility for launches of Falcon rockets, including of astronauts to the International Space Station, and larger Falcon Heavy rockets.

The two proposed new launch pads sites were located near the existing pads, inside KSC's secure perimeter.

Space Florida separately is studying the possibility of developing a commercial launch complex called Shiloh near the northern border of property NASA shares with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

A environmental review led by the Federal Aviation Administration could be completed next year.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean @ floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at@ flatoday _ jdean and on Facebook atfacebook.com/jamesdeanspace.