Paper Session II-B - National Spaceport Testbed

The U.S. space industry continues to struggle to turn space business into successful business. Sensing this, both NASA and the state of Florida are exploring ideas for engaging their technological and economic resources in solving this grand challenge. This paper proposes just such an idea: a revolutionary new facility called the National Spaceport Testbed that would be dedicated to testing new space transportation technology. The one-of-a-kind testbed would allow space entrepreneurs to carry out ground and flight tests at reduced costs; allow NASA to apply resources to technical risk reduction; and allow Florida to attract and retain new space business