Master Plan - Hero Background Rocket Launch

Strategic Partners

Kennedy Space Center should be promoted as a multi-user spaceport with unique, unmatched advantages, emphasizing the center as a low-cost service provider offering multiple types of flexible pricing options. KSC should be branded as a sustainable and socially aware spaceport that is attracting a whole new generation of explorers to the spaceflight market. KSC’s potential market segments are closely aligned with the market segments with which the State of Florida is involved, which provides opportunities for collaboration. KSC currently proactively coordinates with state and local governments and regional economic development organizations to assess the market and develop strategies that will meet the emerging needs of KSC and its partners. KSC should continue to cultivate these partnerships with federal, state, public, private and academic organizations to capitalize on the complementary strengths of each organization to aid in its transformation into a multi-user spaceport.

Brevard County

Brevard County government agencies have been long-term partners of KSC and all parties are prepared to explore future strategic relationships that support both federal and local government goals.  The county will continue to support the development of the spaceport by offering incentives to prospective spaceport customers and building relationships with companies who may wish to operate on or with KSC. 

CCAFS (45th Space Wing)

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Per a 1963 inter-agency agreement between NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the 45th Space Wing is responsible for coordination of launch and airspace activities between NASA and the DoD.  KSC will continue to coordinate eastern range policies and scheduling issues with the 45th Space Wing and will work with the 45th Space Wing to establish consistent commercial business policies and practices to simplify the process for commercial launch customers and reduce time to launch.

Department of Energy

KSC will pursue partnership opportunities with the Department of Energy (DoE) in the development of alternative and clean energy projects, including the expansion of those that have already been facilitated or may be facilitated on center property.

Department of the Interior: National Park Service – Cape Canaveral National Seashore

Cape Canaveral National Seashore includes 58,000 acres of Barrier Island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flat woods and offshore waters along the east central coast of Florida. It represents an excellent example of a national park unit where inter-agency cooperation is paramount.  Approximately two-thirds of the park is owned by NASA and much of that is co-managed with the adjacent Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

Department of the Interior: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 as an overlay of Kennedy Space Center. Consisting of 140,000 acres, the refuge provides a wide variety of habitats. Coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flat woods, and hardwood hammocks provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals.

FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA-AST) manages and regulates all airspace over Kennedy Space Center.  Options are being considered to establish an FAA Commercial Space Transportation Technical Center at KSC to help facilitate its role as regulator and promoter of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry.

Florida Department of Transportation

NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the State of Florida are partnering to take advantage of opportunities using the state’s existing assets, including launch facilities, payload processing and checkout facilities, and the Shuttle Landing Facility. Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Enterprise Florida, and Space Florida are all working together to support the development of this important business sector.

Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB)

PAFB is the primary missile and rocket launch research area for the United States Air Force on the east coast. PAFB personnel provide range safety and weather forecasting services to KSC, and also service KSC’s helicopters, along with other visiting aircraft, at PAFB hangars. PAFB is also home to the 45th Space Wing Headquarters, which commands both PAFB and CCAFS.

Port Canaveral

Port Canaveral is an artificial port created in the 1950s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Large locks installed at the port’s west end for the Apollo program connect port facilities with the Banana River waterway leading to KSC and CCAFS.  Based on their historical relationship and their interconnected geography, KSC and Port Canaveral will continue to collaborate on potential future partnerships to benefit the region.

Space Florida

Space Florida is an Independent Special District of the State of Florida, created by Chapter 331, Part II, Florida Statutes, for the purposes of fostering the growth and development of a sustainable and world-leading space industry in Florida. KSC will work with Space Florida in joint-venture relationships to develop and sustain spaceport capabilities, and to provide spaceport customers with comprehensive solutions for meeting their needs. Space Florida may use state-appropriated funds to offset costs in the initial years of a new commercial customer’s operations, provide access to capital for co-investment and/or low-interest financing of capital improvements, and sponsor a user’s application for tax abatement and other cost-reduction incentives.

U.S. Air Force Research Lab

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by U.S. Air Force Materiel Command, dedicated to leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies, planning and executing the AF science and technology program, and providing warfighting capabilities to U.S. air, space, and cyberspace forces.

U.S. Coast Guard 

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) personnel are responsible for over 42 miles of sea coast adjoining KSC. USCG can provide waterborne security patrols for the Banana River and Indian River.  With strong ties to the military port, some Coast Guard cargo operations are conducted at the Air Force wharf and Poseidon and Trident wharves on CCAFS.