Florida's Space for Business efforts are coming out strong in Europe this week, as we struck up an agreement with the United Kingdom Trade Investment group and have begun working cooperatively with the ESA's technology transfer program office to assist space-related small and medium enterprises in the US and Europe to open up new markets and assist with setting up international offices. I also had the chance to meet with principals of several of Europe's largest aerospace companies to discuss their ambitions in the US and how Florida can play a role. I will be following up with each of these companies in the next few months, as well as with other contacts we were able to establish here at the Farnborough Air Show. I look forward to sharing that progress with you in the coming weeks and months.

On Sunday (April 11), Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp was joined by Senate President-Designate Mike Haridopolos, U.S. Senator George LeMieux, Congressman Bill Posey, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas and Astronauts Jon McBride, Winston Scott and Bob Springer – among other notables – to rally community awareness and support of our state’s future in the next-generation U.S. space program.

I regret that I was unable to attend the rally in person, but I was pleased to represent our state in critical meetings leading up to the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs Sunday. I applaud Commissioner Robin Fisher’s leadership in this event and believe the rally truly helped deliver a strong message to our nation’s capital – that Florida is ready to take a leadership role in our President’s new space vision – and leverage our state’s workforce and infrastructure strengths to help the U.S. continue to lead the charge of innovation in space exploration.

As I mentioned by way of Commissioner Fisher’s comments at Sunday’s event, I believe the greatest danger in these times of change is not the change; it is to act without a clear strategic plan and clear goals...especially when it comes to space. As NASA Administrator Charles Bolden mentioned to national media during last week’s Headquarters press conference, we now have a more clear goal…definitive exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit – target Mars.

Now, especially after the release of this stated goal and greater definition of intended roles for the NASA Centers, it is more important than ever, to keep the pressure on the White House to be even more specific in work assignments for Florida (especially in the key Flagship Technology roles), and even more NEAR-TERM with respect to activating those KSC-based assignments.

Yesterday’s Rally was important and timely, critical in keeping the pressure on, that we need a conscious effort to preserve core capabilities here in Florida for the Nation's future. We cannot afford a large Gap in work activity between the current and the future program.

Now, we begin the work of developing and proving out the technologies that will effectively get us there. Florida is slated to play a critical role in that path, and I believe there is no state better equipped to meet the needs of our country’s ambitions than the home of today’s seasoned Shuttle workforce.

I am proud of our community. Your strong presence at events like Sunday’s rally send a critical message to the White House that we stand together…and the United States must reach together… in order for our country to remain a world leader in space.

I want to thank everyone for joining us for the recent Space Summit. For those unable to attend, I want to share some of the highlights from these important discussions and our focus on conclusions. As always, I welcome your comments and insights.  

I want to express my appreciation to our Governor, Charlie Crist, for his commitment to personally launch the day of work with a decisive call to action by announcing his administration's focus on The Space Transition and Revitalization Act (STAR). I am grateful for the thoughtful guidance and input from Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, who considered and commented on a full roster of data and insights through the entire Summit.  

What do these Summit Notes mean to Space Florida and its President? Let there be no doubt, they are a signal for an action plan that involves our entire state in the advocacy and innovation required to capture much more of the global space market. You have my commitment that, as your intermediary, Space Florida will ensure actions are staged in plain view of the Florida team, advanced with a sense of ownership among all our great regions, and managed with urgency, data and passion. Our Space Day efforts, White House communications, Congressional unity, and ongoing Florida legislative leadership and support throughout this session require our focused attention and continued communication and action.   

Thank you for all you do for Florida. I know we can translate our legacy and know how into market share and opportunity for generations to come IF all see this as our priority.

Click to open Attachment

Attachment above is a brief on the Space Industry Summit

I was thrilled to learn this week that Cecil Field was issued a Launch Site Operator’s License from the FAA. This license has been highly anticipated, as it formally enables this historic Northern Florida facility to host horizontal space launches from its runways. This capability – in addition to similar potential sites currently being researched at Kennedy Space Center and in Southern Florida – is critical to providing our state with the competitive edge it needs to be a key player in the U.S. space tourism industry.

By offering a network of horizontal launch sites, Florida will be able to provide a unique benefit to global commercial launch operators. Not only will Florida’s multiple sites provide a variety of options for takeoff and landing that may be required due to weather and air traffic constraints, it will also offer multiple locations for point-to-point suborbital travel. Additionally, Cecil Field may serve as one of many potential operating bases for air-launch, small satellite boosters carried by vehicles such as Virgin Galactic's White Knight Two.

With the realization of Cecil Field’s FAA license, and the anticipated announcements of additional such sites in Florida, our state will have a unique competitive advantage over other domestic spaceports.

We are thrilled to have been able to work with Cecil Field representatives during this process, and look forward to continuing our relationship with them as the commercial space industry grows.

This week, I submitted a letter of support to the Florida Department of Education (FDoE) in its recent submission for “Race to the Top,” a federal competitive education grant program.

Space Florida has long partnered with and supported the Florida Department of Education on initiatives to enhance Florida’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum for our future aerospace workforce. As part of our overall education strategy, we recently partnered on programs like “Butterflies in Space,” where more than 700 Florida classrooms (involving more nearly 30,000 students) had the opportunity to participate in a unique, interactive research experiment taking place aboard the International Space Station. In 2009, we also worked with FDoE to produce the “Exploring Microgravity” DVD, an engaging video resource for Florida educators to help their students understand scientific principles that are affected by microgravity (this DVD is planned for release in Spring 2010). Additionally, over the past few years, Space Florida and FDoE have sponsored and hosted five-day teacher academies at Kennedy Space Center, allowing Florida educators to participate in hands-on workshops to enhance the communication of critical science curricula in their classrooms.

I do hope that this letter of support will assist the FDoE in achieving some success with the “Race to the Top” submission, which will greatly assist funding for and training of STEM innovation throughout Florida classrooms.

The Letter: