Visionaries Sparked Economic Resurgence on Space Coast

Becoming the World’s Premier Multi-User Spaceport – Part 1

By Bob Granath

On Sept. 16, 2021, SpaceX launched its Inspiration4 mission with four civilian crewmembers. It was the company’s first fully private flight sending humans to orbit. It was an example of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center serving as a premier multi-user spaceport, supporting an ever-expanding commercial industry, providing transportation to space for both people and cargo.

The mission also is an example of expanded spaceflight activity resulting in an economic resurgence on Florida’s Space Coast.

“With the growth of commercial launch capabilities, Kennedy has embarked on a new era of space exploration,” said Center Director Janet Petro. “With more than 90 private-sector partners and nearly 250 partnership agreements, the presence of commercial companies at the multi-user spaceport is larger than ever before.”

Click here to read more about the development of commercial spaceflight.

When former astronaut Bob Cabana was appointed director at Kennedy in 2008, his primary task was to guide the Florida spaceport through the completion of the Space Shuttle Program.

Following the final flight of the shuttle Atlantis in July 2011, thousands of contractor employees were laid off, beginning an economic downturn in the communities surrounding Kennedy. Numerous businesses throughout Brevard County, Florida closed.

But after taking the helm, Cabana selected Janet Petro, deputy center director at the time, to lead a team composed of agency and center experts to establish his vision of Kennedy becoming more than a government-only facility.

Their plan was to maximize the spaceport’s competitive position, namely its experience, location and infrastructure, to meet the nation’s forthcoming spacefaring needs. NASA would work side-by-side with commercial enterprises launching a wide variety of vehicles without dependence on one program such as Apollo or the Space Shuttle to fund most center activities.

The expanded vision also will take Kennedy decades into the future with an innovative concept for the historic Florida launch site — a premier multi-user spaceport.

Reaching Greater Heights

Making the best use of taxpayer-funded resources was a key objective from the reorganization of the space center’s management structure to provide optimum utilization of available assets.

Existing historic buildings and launch sites in use for more than 50 years were converted to support a modern spaceport equipped with state-of-the art technology. By 2015, the space center’s NASA-industry team met Cabana and Petro’s objective of a spaceport meeting diverse challenges of the future.

“We have an outstanding, highly skilled workforce,” Cabana said at the time. “They have achieved the goal of building a 21st century space launch complex with modernized infrastructure for more cost-effective operations, serving multiple users.”

The result was increased activity including NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with the SpaceX Dragon and Crew Dragon launching cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will soon join that activity. Additionally, Blue Origin has built a rocket manufacturing facility just outside Kennedy’s gates.

“We have been working with private companies to transfer our knowledge of human spaceflight while allowing them to innovate their designs,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This partnership has proven to be very powerful because both NASA and the companies leverage their unique skills.”

Another example of industry collaborating with NASA was unveiled on Sept. 27, 2021. Terran Orbital plans to locate a Commercial Spacecraft and Constellation Facility at Kennedy to produce thousands of different types of space vehicles and electro-mechanical devices.

The new complex will be built near the center’s Launch and Landing Facility, which is being managed and developed by Space Florida under a long-term agreement with the agency. Terran Orbital’s 660,000 square foot manufacturing facility is expected to create about 2,100 new jobs.

“Terran Orbital will be investing $300 million in the Space Coast to build the largest satellite manufacturing facility in the world,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in announcing the project. “In Florida we are going to continue to take the lead on space by investing in infrastructure, training highly skilled workers and maintaining an economic climate that allows companies like Terran Orbital to thrive.”

While commercial organizations are taking the lead in launching to low-Earth orbit, NASA’s Artemis Program is preparing to send the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface. Soon, the Space Launch System, the world’s most powerful rocket, will lift off on the first integrated flight with an Orion spacecraft. The mission will travel well beyond the Moon.

This expanded activity has resulted in an economic resurgence for the communities surrounding Kennedy. So many people are moving to Brevard County, Florida, that an official with the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce recently said that when a home goes on the market, on average, it is sold in eight hours.

Bob Cabana

For those who have flown into space, it is often difficult to top what has been achieved as an astronaut. That is especially true for those who have been part of a milestone mission. In 1998, Cabana commanded the Space Shuttle mission that began assembly of the International Space Station.

When NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently promoted Cabana as the agency’s associate administrator, the former astronaut left behind a legacy of more than being the center’s longest tenured director.

“Under his leadership, Kennedy has emerged as a modern, world class multi-user spaceport, partnering with commercial customers and supporting NASA’s science and human exploration missions,” Nelson said announcing the appointment on May 17, 2021.

“Bob has a relentless determination to expand America’s role in space,” said Nelson. “He has the vision and management skills to bring NASA to even higher heights.”

A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cabana graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971 with a degree in mathematics. He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and completed Naval Flight training in Pensacola in 1972. He was designated a naval aviator in September 1976 and went on to log more than 7,000 hours of flight time in more than 50 different kinds of aircraft. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981 and served in the Flight Systems Branch at the Naval Air Test Center until 1984.

Cabana was selected as an astronaut in June 1985 and went on to fly four Space Shuttle missions logging 38 days in space.

At Kennedy, Cabana managed all NASA programs and activities at the spaceport, including the team of civil service and contractor employees who operate some of NASA’s most critical programs.

“As much as I am going to miss the incredible team at Kennedy, I can’t wait to take on this new challenge,” Cabana said. “Bill and I have a shared passion for America’s space program, and I look forward to serving NASA and our nation in this new capacity.”

Janet Petro

On June 30, 2021, Nelson named Petro center director at Kennedy. She now oversees the center’s world-class multi-user spaceport, supporting both commercial customers and NASA’s science and human exploration missions.

“Having grown up on Florida’s Space Coast and being the second generation in my family to work at Kennedy Space Center,” Petro said, “it’s truly exciting to help grow the multi-user spaceport as we prepare for Artemis and continue launching commercial crew missions to the International Space Station.”

While Petro was born in Detroit, Michigan, her father moved his family to Satellite Beach, Florida when he went to work in NASA’s Mercury and Gemini Programs. After graduating from Satellite High School, she was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy and was in the second class of West Point graduates to include women. She was awarded a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1981 and later earned a master’s in business administration from Boston University.

While in the U.S. Army’s Aviation Branch, Petro piloted helicopters and lead troop assignments based in Germany.

Petro served as the center’s deputy director beginning in 2007. She helped lead Kennedy’s transformation to a multi-user spaceport, bringing a variety of new commercial and government partners to Kennedy. She led cross-agency initiatives with the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Air Force to cut “red tape” streamlining government processes and supporting commercial space operations, increasing government efficiency and limit redundancy.

Cabana stated that couldn’t be happier that Petro would be his successor.

“Janet was an incredible partner leading Kennedy over the past 14 years,” he said. “There is no one better to lead the incredible team at Kennedy. I’m confident that under Janet’s leadership, Kennedy will continue to grow, building on its legacy as the United States’ premier multi-user spaceport and supporting NASA and private industry’s activities throughout the solar system.”

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center transitioning to a premier multi-user spaceport. Next month, read about how Bob Cabana and Janet Petro’s vision sparked a commercial space revolution at the Florida spaceport.

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