Amid surging commercial launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base, the Central Coast is expected to see $80 million in new federal funding to expand launch capacity.
REACH worked closely with the California congressional delegation for over a year to tee-up and secure funds for new payload processing facilities at VSFB and an initial investment in the Spaceport of the Future Initiative, which are included in the annual federal funding bills expected to pass in the next few days.
“We are thrilled to see this critical investment in the Central Coast space infrastructure,” said Joshua Boswell, Vice President of Policy + Economic Development at REACH. “These facilities will allow commercial satellite and launch providers to continue expanding operations on the Central Coast.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein heralded the efforts before her death in September.
“In this year’s Senate Defense Appropriations process, I fought for a new satellite payload processing facility which will significantly expand the number of launches that can take place out of Vandenberg in the near future,” she said in one of her final statements. “California continues to play a leading role in our nation’s rapidly expanding space industry.”
The state’s congressional delegation also came together this week to urge Gov. Newsom to prioritize investment in the space economy.
In a joint letter, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal — a close collaborator in REACH’s work to grow the Central Coast space ecosystem — Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler and 39 other congressional representatives highlighted what Florida and Texas have done to grow the space economy in their states and called on California to do more.
“While we continue to advocate for federal funding for California, we cannot compete without bold state leadership and investment,” the letter states. “If California does not meet the moment and follow suit with other space states, then we will be left behind and lose out on a generational opportunity.”
In other space news:
- SpaceX has launched 10 Falcon 9s out of Vandenberg Space Force Base so far this year, closing in on the weekly cadence the company is targeting for this year.
- And Stratolaunch conducted a second captive-carry test flight of its hypersonic Talon aircraft on the double fuselage behemoth Roc launcher over the coastline a couple weeks ago. Ars Technica has the backstory of the world’s largest airplane back from the dead.
