Juneau, AK—Governor Sarah Palin has appointed Dr. David (Dave) Weldon, Jr., former United States Representative from Florida’s 15th District, to the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Board of Directors. The eleven-member board is charged with developing aerospace-related economic and technical opportunities in the state of Alaska.
The board works with private corporations, government agencies, and universities to:
- » Develop and sustain a comprehensive space launch business at the Kodiak Launch Complex, owned and operated by the corporation.
- » Identify and develop other aerospace opportunities for the corporation and the state.
Dave Weldon, M.D. served in Congress representing Florida’s 15th Congressional District from January 1995 through December 2008 when he elected to retire from The House. District 15 (The Florida Space Coast) is home to the NASA Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dr. Weldon’s congressional career was heavily devoted to the priorities of our nation’s military and civil space programs. During his first eight years in the House, Dr. Weldon served on the House Science Committee, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, to include six years as the vice chairman. His last six years in Congress.
Dr. Weldon served on the Appropriations Committee. Dr. Weldon mainly focused on issues of importance to the launch industry. This included obtaining funding and oversight of the effort to modernize the Eastern Test Range, which is responsible for supporting all launch operations for NASA, the military and commercial launches. As part of this effort, Dr. Weldon was one of the lead sponsors in the House for securing federal funding for the Ballistic Missile Range Safety and Telemetry unit (BMRST) which now helps support the Kodiak Launch Complex.
With this appointment, Dr. Weldon welcomes the opportunity to remain active in his support of the nation’s space programs, as well as renew his professional association with the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Dale Nash that they had for twelve years on the Space Shuttle program.