The global space-launch industry is increasingly looking towards Alaska’s two spaceports as potential solutions to the growing backlog at larger facilities in the Lower 48 states.
Top officials from Alaska’s civilian launch facilities, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and the Alaska Aerospace Corporation in Kodiak, have announced a new partnership aimed at enhancing their capabilities to meet rising demands.
Bob McCoy, director of the Geophysical Institute, highlighted the necessity of this collaboration, stating, “The launch ranges in the Lower 48 are pretty much oversubscribed.”
In June, Alaska Aerospace and the Geophysical Institute formalized their partnership through a renewable five-year agreement, which outlines a strategy for jointly developing the Poker Flat Research Range located near Fairbanks.
Their objective is to provide more comprehensive services catering to the booming commercial rocket and satellite sectors.
McCoy has noted an influx of interest surrounding this initiative, particularly after a recent presentation he gave at a National Science Foundation conference.
He mentioned, “It went over really well, especially NASA. I gave my talk, and NASA followed up right behind me. And they pretty much said they like this, they like what we’re saying.”
The memorandum of understanding signed by McCoy and Alaska Aerospace President and CEO John Oberst facilitates the development of operations and facilities at Poker Flat, which will complement offerings at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska situated on Kodiak Island.
While many details remain to be finalized, McCoy emphasized the goal of attracting more business to both launch facilities, thereby aiding in the growth of Alaska’s space industry.
“So, what systems, what people, what facilities do they have, and how can we pool these to save money and increase the launch tempo?” he queried, acknowledging the complexity of working through these logistical challenges.
The Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat, operating it primarily as a research facility under contract with NASA.
One of the ways both facilities hope to attract customers from both the public and private sectors is by capitalizing on the burgeoning interest in hypersonic rockets.
Though talks are still in their preliminary stages, McCoy expressed optimism, stating, “There’s a lot of development for hypersonic rockets, and there’s companies building them. They want to launch them every few weeks to test them. That’s a good opportunity and should be a way to expand the workforce in Alaska.”
Currently, much of this activity is centered around major U.S. launch sites like Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Oberst commented on the implications of heightened interest in hypersonics, as well as the increasing demand for larger rocket models like SpaceX’s Falcon series.
He remarked, “There is a traffic jam. What that means is there’s more requirements to access space than there ever has been before. A lot of that is going to the what’s called ‘super heavy’ and ‘heavy lift,’ which is the Falcon Nines, the Starship, when it comes online … and the other large rockets that NASA procures.”
Oberst disclosed that Alaska’s two launch facilities currently have no waiting lists, positioning them as attractive alternatives due to their lower launch costs.
This offers a viable option for startups and smaller companies that typically do not deploy large batches of satellites.
He explained, “The smaller guys — they’re not throwing up hundreds of satellites at a time. They’re throwing up one or two. They need someplace to go where they can actually launch. And so they’re looking at Alaska for that.”
While the Kodiak spaceport is capable of handling both orbital and suborbital launches, Poker Flat is specifically tailored for suborbital missions, which reach the edge of space but lack the velocity to achieve orbit around the Earth.
According to McCoy, the newly established agreement will permit the Geophysical Institute to utilize personnel and facilities from Alaska Aerospace, which include critical safety and telemetry systems used for orbital launches at Poker Flat.
He indicated that these systems are portable, having been relocated to various international sites including New Zealand and Scotland.
McCoy further noted that both launch facilities are currently in discussions with five different prospective customers, mentioning one company that has proposed a particularly ambitious launch schedule.
“They want to launch every two weeks in Alaska. So that’s huge,” he stated.
Both McCoy and Oberst expect that these customers will primarily fund the majority of the upgrades necessary for Alaska’s launch facilities to capitalize on the expanding commercial launch industry.
image source from：alaskapublic
