Aug. 30--Midland International Airport officials expect to make their way through the application for a spaceport designation during the next nine months.
The Midland City Council this week amended a contract between the airport and Parkhill, Smith & Cooper that will allow the firm and a team of experts to work on the elements necessary to complete the application for a commercial space launch site. The contract was amended for costs of up to $628,502.
Marv Esterly, director of airports, already has gone through the initial steps with the Federal Aviation Administration. The team put together by Parkhill, Smith & Cooper will meet for the first time in September and work on the next steps needed for the application.
"They put together a team of consultants and engineering firms to work on the environmental assessment, baseline noise studies and sonic boom analysis," Esterly said. "That will move forward now."
The team of experts is made up of individuals from Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, Cardno TEC and Silverwing Enterprises LLC.
The designation is needed to allow XCOR Aerospace to test its reusable winged launch vehicle, the Lynx, from Midland. The company agreed in July to develop a headquarters and research and development facility here as part of a $10 million economic development incentive deal.
The Lynx vehicle takes off and lands horizontally, or in a manner similar to a traditional airplane, but still requires special spaceport licenses to operate from any particular location. It will fly to the suborbital level, or about 62 miles above the earth's surface.
Esterly said Midland International Airport is forging new ground in some ways since there aren't any other commercial airports with a spaceport designation.
"We are the first commercial airport to be doing this," he said.
As part of the application process, the airport will need to complete an environmental assessment as well as a baseline noise study and a sonic boom analysis, he said.
Esterly said he will speak with FAA officials in September about whether some of those things could be covered, at least in part, through FAA airport improvement grants.
Until it's known whether grants can be used, the funds for the Parkhill, Smith & Cooper contract were transferred out of the airport operations reserve fund, Esterly said.
If the money can't be reimbursed through grants, Esterly said he believes it will have been a good investment for the airport.
The spaceport designation is needed for XCOR but also will open up the airport for other aerospace companies and development in the future.
"The airport does have reserves and this is a feather in the hat of the airport to have this license," he said. "It will help us in the future. If the airport is paying for it all, I think it's a good investment."
Some council members have said if the spaceport costs don't qualify for FAA matching grants, they may seek assistance from the Midland Development Corp. to cover the costs.
"In my mind, that's an MDC expense," said John James, councilman for District 3, speaking during a budget meeting. "That's not an airport expense."
Kathleen Petty can be reached at [email protected].
Copyright 2012 - Midland Reporter-Telegram, Texas
