posted 07-13-2013 09:15 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss the development of the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport.

posted 07-13-2013 09:16 AM               

According to the spaceport presentation, Ellington could host orbital, sub-orbital, and point-to-point launches. There would be no vertical launches at Ellington.

They are also reportedly working on an FAA/AST Spaceport License, collaborations with the Johnson Space Center, and partnerships with local universities like Rice, Texas A&M, University of Houston, and Texas Southern University are also being forged.

posted 07-18-2013 07:36 AM               

On Wednesday [July 17], the council approved a $718,900 contract with Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc., a consulting service, to study how Houston can obtain a spaceport launch site operator's license. The consulting firm will also conduct an environmental assessment at Ellington.

According to city council documents, Reynolds, Smith and Hills will have a three-year contract with the city, and the majority of the firm’s work to get a spaceport license and assess conditions at Ellington Airport will be completed in the first year of the contract.

posted 07-27-2013 07:50 AM               

• California Spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base
  
• Spaceport Florida at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  
• Cecil Field Spaceport, Jacksonville, Florida
  
• Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia
  
• Mojave Air and Space Port in California
  
• Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska
  
• Oklahoma Spaceport, Burns Flat, Oklahoma
  
• Spaceport America, Las Cruces, New Mexico

quote:

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Originally posted by dabolton:
What's to prevent giving blanket licenses to any large airport with long enough runways?

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The location of a launch site is determined by access to useful orbits and public safety. In order to protect the public's safety, launch sites are normally built as far away as possible from major cities in case of a catastrophic failure. Most launch sites are built close to bodies of water to ensure that should a failure occur, no components fall over populated areas.

posted 03-25-2015 04:41 AM               

"Before July we are very optimistic that you'll be living in a city with a spaceport as part of its infrastructure," said Arturo Machuca, general manager of Ellington Airport.

No rockets will launch from Ellington's spaceport... but with its runway and spaceport license, the city hopes to capture a piece of the emerging space tourism industry, which comes in a variety of spacecraft and space planes, as well as develop other related aerospace infrastructure at the 700-acre site in southeast Houston.

Machuca mentioned the likelihood of a contract with a company to manufacture drones, and hopes to eventually bring spacecraft building enterprises as well to Houston.

posted 07-02-2015 11:02 AM               

After reviewing and analyzing currently available data and information on existing conditions and the potential impacts of the Proposed Action, the FAA has determined that the Proposed Action would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment.

...for nominal launches, all of the oxidizer would be consumed during the RLV powered flight. For aborted flights, the oxidizer would be released and evaporate before landing, while the fuel would remain onboard and would be returned to the ground by the RLV.

For a nominal launch, no hazardous post-flight ground operations would be required to return the RLV to safe conditions. In the event the oxidizer is not completely consumed or released, the RLV would be moved to an area with an established safety clear zone (i.e., OLA), and the remaining oxidizer and fuel would be removed in accordance with safety procedures developed for the Houston Spaceport.