Posted on 12/07/2007 7:58:04 AM PST by BenLurkin
MOJAVE - The nation's first inland spaceport could lose that designation by the end of the year. The Federal Aviation Administration informed officials at the Mojave Air and Space Port of its intention to suspend or revoke the space launch site operator's license Dec. 31.
"I have no reason to be optimistic we're going to keep our spaceport license," said General Manager Stu Witt, reporting on the issue to the East Kern Airport District board of directors Tuesday. The district governs the Mojave Air and Space Port.
At issue are questions by the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation regarding the facility's plans for safely storing and handling the energetic chemicals used by rocket companies.
Two explosive accidents at the airport this summer, one fatal, have increased regulatory scrutiny on the facility.
Three Scaled Composites employees were killed and three more injured in a July 26 blast during what is described as a routine test of the nitrous oxide components of the rocket propulsion system for SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital spacecraft under development by Scaled for space tourism company Virgin Galactic.
An explosion and subsequent fire in an explosive materials storage area June 3 did not cause any injuries.
Since that time, the airport and its procedures have been studied by multiple outside agencies, as well as in investigations by the airport itself and the tenants involved.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
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