Space Florida hopes to increase Space Force operations in Brevard County
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Despite losing the high-profile competition for U.S. Space Command headquarters earlier this year, Florida officials haven’t stopped trying to woo more operations related to the military’s newest branch.
Space Florida, the state’s spaceport authority and aerospace development agency, is investigating what it will take to bring more Space Force operations to Brevard County, an area already home to two military installations, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and dozens of commercial spaceflight companies. The branch established in late 2019 still needs to make decisions on where to establish some operations like training centers.
Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station were among the first former Air Force facilities to be renamed as Space Force installations. Much like the Marine Corps falls under the purview of the Navy, the Space Force is positioned under Air Force leadership.
“The Space Force was stood up and given the job to organize, train, and equip to ensure America’s freedom of operation in that domain,” Mark Bontrager, Space Florida’s vice president for spaceport operations, told a Florida Senate committee this week. “We are privileged to have two of the seven Space Force installations.”
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Looking forward, he said, Florida could be an ideal location for training facilities, or what are known as technical schools. Tech schools usually come immediately after basic training and prepare new military members – in this case, Space Force guardians – for their specific roles.
“About 16,000 of those people need to be trained and equipped from the very beginning of the time they raise their right hand and show up as a young enlisted or officer,” Bontrager said. “That Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) is going to be provisionally stood up in Colorado Springs as a temporary location.”
“Florida is positioned to lean into and win,” at least some of the activities related to STARCOM, he said.
Vandenberg Space Force Base near Los Angeles, California, was already selected for the first of five STARCOM sub-commands, or “deltas,” but more selections are expected in the coming months. Its command headquarters, however, is still up for grabs.
One of the advantages inherent to Florida is those trained in space-related roles will most likely end up being stationed here at some point or will at least travel here for launch activities, for example. Securing STARCOM’s headquarters would be a win for the state for several reasons, including the fact that guardians will return for training several times over the course of their careers.
Patrick Space Force Base lost the Space Command headquarters to Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal earlier this year. The branch’s interim command is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Bontrager said ongoing meetings with the Space Force, Air Force, and other agencies could help things turn out differently for Florida this time.
“We went through the unpleasant experience of not winning the U.S. Space Command headquarters,” he said. “But we learned a lot through that process. One of the things we learned was the Air Force didn’t take into account, as part of their criteria, the things Florida can bring to the fight.”
After the selection, the Air Force asked Space Florida to offer input into the selection criteria, which Bontrager said they did “very aggressively.”
“We brought lists of actions and things they ought to be looking at,” he said, adding that Space Florida is currently compiling statewide and regional reports.
“We are in the process of finalizing a statewide statement of capability that we are going to be able to bring to help the Air Force and Space Force understand those assets and capabilities that already exist in Florida,” he said.
Contact Emre Kelly at [email protected] or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly. Support space journalism by subscribing at floridatoday.com/specialoffer/.
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