ANCHORAGE – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation has approved the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC) Environmental Assessment (EA) for construction of medium lift launch facilities at the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA). Notice of final approval was posted in the Federal Register on Friday, April 15, 2016. 

“This approval is a major step in our efforts to attract new launch customers to PSCA as we work to diversify our customer base and increase the activities at the launch complex.” said Craig Campbell, President and Chief Executive Officer for Alaska Aerospace Corporation. 

In January 2015, Governor Walker placed a hold on future development of the medium lift facility and AAC returned $22.0 million of the state capital appropriation for that project. However, since the environmental process was in the public and agency review phase, the FAA proceeded to complete the assessment. 

In returning the $22.0 million back to the state for re-appropriation, Campbell stated that “AAC understands the state’s fiscal challenges and supports the re-appropriation of unused capital funds to other higher priority projects within the state. However, as the launch business has continued to evolve over the past few years, it was considered an important aspect to have the EA completed to provide AAC with the ability to attract medium lift customers in future years.” 

Alaska Aerospace Corporation is a state-owned company headquartered in Anchorage that operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska, as well as offering range support, launch services, and sales of Alaska satellite imaging data worldwide.