Rocket Lab,
a relative newcomer in the space industry, has named Cape Canaveral as one of its four potential sites for a company launch pad.
The first U.S.-based rocket launch by a relative newcomer in the space industry could come from Florida’s Space Coast, as early as next year.
Rocket Lab has listed Cape Canaveral as one of four potential locations for a launch pad that would send into orbit its lightweight, two-stage Electron rocket in the second quarter of 2019.
The Huntington Beach, Calif.,-based company also listed the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia; the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska; and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as finalists.
Rocket Lab specializes in the launch of small satellites, known as CubeSats, an area of the space industry that’s quickly emerged.
CubeSats are essentially miniaturized satellites used in space research that allow less-bulky experiments and payloads to launch into space.
The company already has a launch pad in New Zealand.
“Launching from U.S. soil adds an extra layer of flexibility for our government and commercial customers, offering an unmatched ability to rapidly deploy space-based assets with confidence and precision,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive, in a release announcing the finalist locations.
Pad construction cost, regulatory hurdles and anticipated operational costs are among the factors the company will consider as it determines where to build the pad, which will be dubbed Launch Complex 2.
The site will be announced in August, company officials said.
Space Florida, which promotes the space industry in Brevard County, has already begun wooing Rocket Labs.
“Rocket Lab will need an East Coast site to meet their customer requirements,” said Dale Ketcham, vice president of government and external relations for Space Florida.
“As a new company, they are focused, rightfully, on their customers’ needs to establish their own business model.”
He said his group will coordinate with the U.S. Air Force’s Space Wing, based on the Space Coast, to put together a proposal. He also cited the region’s recent success in supporting rocket launches for commercial space companies.
“We hope to build on those advantages to the benefit of both this new industry and those who live here,” Ketcham said.
Construction is expected to begin immediately after site selection with the first launch expected in the second quarter of next year.
The Electron is a 56-foot-long, 23,000-pound, two-stage expendable rocket that first launched an unsuccessful test flight May 25, 2017. Its second launch, the first to successfully deploy satellites, was Jan. 21.
The first commercial launch has not been scheduled but is expected to come from the company’s New Zealand pad.
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