Details on the Proposed Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center

Space shuttle Atlantis lands on runway 33 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility concluding the STS-129 mission. Photo credit: NASA Jack Pfaller

The Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Workforce & Economic Development’s report outlines proposals for:

• a $5 million Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center
• Commerce and Small Business Administration efforts
• retraining and job fair programs for laid off workers
• a fast-track competitive grants program.

Excerpts from the report that cover the above areas:

Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation is responsible for ensuring the protection of the public, property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States during commercial space launch and reentry activities. To facilitate the provision of these services, the FAA proposes to establish a Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center at KSC which would provide safety and technical support for future commercial space launch activities. FAA could utilize up to $5 million (from funding provided to NASA for Space Coast economic development activities) for staff to support the continued development of standards and regulations for commercial spaceflight. This enables opportunities for highly-skilled NASA employees and contractors in the area to transition seamlessly to FAA.

As the FAA works to create the Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center, DOL will partner to ensure that displaced workers from KSC receive the training they need to fit the requirements of the jobs created and that on-going work is done to customize the training for future workers to fill future jobs as the Technical Center grows.

Commerce/SBA Projects: Collectively, EDA and SBA have committed to providing up to $600,000 in additional immediate investment to the Space Coast and surrounding region from FY 2010 funding. This includes a commitment from EDA to provide up to an additional $400,000 in technical assistance grants for the Space Coast region.

SBA will provide $130,000 in expanded funding from SBA’s Office of Small Business
Development Centers (SBDCs) for business counseling and training programs in the Space Coast and greater regional transition area. This funding supplements nearly $790,000 in FY 2010 funds for Central Florida Small Business Development Center partners (SBDC). An additional $95,000 will support capacity building and training for SBDCs across the state to support increased counseling and training efforts.

Finally, SBA will offer $100,000 in funds to its local SBDC partners to participate in early
efforts to identify cluster opportunities and form cluster partnerships. SBDCs will focus on
coordinating with small business resources in the area and working to ensure that small business needs and resources are included and highlighted in broader community efforts.

To provide increased resources for the region, EDA and SBA, in conjunction with TARIC, stand ready to serve as conveners and facilitators of federal and local government efforts and to provide on-going technical assistance to the region. SBA will work to leverage its existing nationwide capital access, business development, and training and counseling programs in the area.

Office of Personnel Management: In late 2010 or early 2011, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will organize a job fair at which displaced employees will be interviewed for jobs in the Federal Government. Prior to the job fair, OPM would canvass other Federal agencies for job openings in Central Florida and around the country, with an emphasis on jobs that require scientific and technical expertise. OPM has organized similar job fairs in Detroit for displaced autoworkers to interview for Federal employment and in Milwaukee for veterans in search of job opportunities.

Invest in Smart Economic Growth Initiatives through a New Competitive Fund:

To maximum the impact of the remaining proposed transition assistance funding for the region, the Task Force recommends launching a fast-track competitive grant process. The process will identify and support innovative ideas for accelerating development of the region’s most promising industry clusters. This initiative will build on and complement existing efforts and ensure collaboration with public, private and nonprofit partners in the region. The Task Force believes that many of the initiatives will build from ideas proposed over the past three months by regional stakeholders, including elected officials, local economic development organizations, and universities.

EDA will oversee an investment review committee charged with evaluating applications. Committee membership will reflect the broad mix of stakeholders engaged in Space Coast planning, including NASA, SBA, DOL, and representatives from other agencies with unique and important perspectives on Space Coast and regional development and diversification.

On September 1, 2010, EDA will make a Program Announcement outlining the criteria by which applicants will be evaluated. Its goal will be to announce grant award winners by January 2011, contingent on the availability of funding.