SPACEPORT 101
On January 18, 2017, Brian Gulliver of Kimley-Horn hosted "Spaceport 101", a presentation designed to educate the attendees as to the opportunities other states and municipalities have pursed with regard to developing spaceports. Mr. Gulliver brought his extensive expertise in spaceport development to the Valley to begin the education and discussions of what many in attendance hope will become a reality in Arizona. While the presentation began with a cautionary tone, by its conclusion, there was noticeable energy developing as evidenced by the several interesting questions from the audience regarding the next steps in the development of an Arizona spaceport.
Mr. Gulliver, an expert in the design and planning of launch facilities and spaceports for government and private customers, presented a thorough breakdown in several aspects of spaceport development. The presentation began with the spaceport basics, such as types and elements-of, and continued to include aerospace vehicle concepts, key users, basic market concerns, and possible future international networks.
Spaceport development is largely broken down into two basic types, vertical launch site facilities, and horizontal launch site facilities. The focus in Arizona is on a horizontal launch site facility that will be capable of conducting flights utilizing concept X and concept Z vehicles. In addition, there is a World View related spaceport proposal occurring in Tucson which may turn out to be the first spaceport in Arizona. The key takeaway, appeared to be that the Arizona market is remarkably absent of spaceport discussions given the large and storied aerospace market presence.
The attendees included representatives from several metro Phoenix municipalities, Greater Phoenix Economic Counsil, ASU (New Space Initiative), Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation, local airports, environmental assessment consultants, real estate developers & engineers, and industrial brokers. A roundtable of local aerospace industry experts is being assembled to discuss the pros and cons of a spaceport in the Metro Phoenix market.