Camden officials say study validates spaceport effort

Aug. 7—A report commissioned by the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit says spaceport access is vital if the nation plans to continue to lead the world in space exploration.

The study concludes most of the spaceports in the country fail to meet launch needs because they conduct horizontal launches instead of vertical ones such is planned at a proposed spaceport in Camden County.

The report acknowledges the challenges in establishing a vertical launch site.

"SpaceX's Boca Chica launch site required about eight years from initial plans to the first experimental launch, and an effort to develop a new launch site in Camden, Ga., has been ongoing since 2012," the study said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is working to streamline launch and reentry requirements and better coordinate airspace with restrictions, which should help increase launch capacity. But the study found "the U.S. will still remain precariously dependent on a handful of key spaceports — a dependency that, if not resolved, will undermine U.S. interests strategically and commercially in the next decade."

The study helps confirm the importance of establishing a spaceport in Camden County, said Gary Blount, chairman of the Camden County Commission.

"Opponents of Spaceport Camden have tried to sell a tale that Spaceport Camden isn't necessary," Blount said. "That's a myth that has now been fully debunked by this Pentagon study.

"Not only is Spaceport Camden necessary to protect US strategic interests, (but also) this catalyst project is of local and regional significance. Spaceport Camden will help fuel Camden's future prosperity."

Steve Weinkle, a Camden County resident and critic of the county's efforts to establish a spaceport, said the more than $10 million already spent will never be recouped by local taxpayers. He also questioned the national strategic value of the planned small rockets launched from the site.

Weinkle said the five licensed vertical launch sites in the nation are virtually unused, including dozens of available launch pads at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.

"Spaceport Camden has taken almost nine years to reach possible approval for a fictional rocket that is one-half the size of the smallest U.S. rocket to ever achieve orbit," he said.

"The current utilization of small launch pads for U.S.-licensed rockets is less than 3% since (Camden County Administrator) Steve Howard started his quest for even more underutilized launch pads."