Alaska Spaceport Plans Expansion To Meet Demand Written 6 December 2018

The AP reports that the Alaska Aerospace Corporation plans to construct a temporary 4,000-square-foot building “to support launch operations at the spaceport on Kodiak Island.” According to Alaska Aerospace President Mark Lester, the new building will allow staff and customer personnel the necessary space to “work on rockets and related hardware.” The building is planned “for the complex’s Area 3, where several launch pads are located.” The new construction is needed “because the spaceport expects demand to increase, Lester said.” According to Lester, the US is seeing a “renaissance in commercial and government interest in affordable access to space.” Lester added, “Multiple rocket developers and integrators are planning on launching small rockets from the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska at Kodiak in the upcoming years. This has prompted Alaska Aerospace Corporation to look at our operational capabilities to ensure we can meet anticipated demand.” Lester detailed the company’s discussions with six companies preparing for launches. The spaceport expects three to six launches in 2019, but “launch demand is anticipated to reach about 24 commercial launches annually,” including “one to two government launches each year.”
More Info (Associated Press)