Updated 8:25 at 12:53 p.m. PDT: Provided more details about Lindner’s reason for resigning.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Todd Lindner resigned earlier this month as CEO of the Mojave Air and Spaceport at Rutan Field after 16 months on the job.

“Todd has a family member with severe health issues and needed to relocate back to Florida to be near family,” said Jim Balentine, a member of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, in an email.

Lindner had given two week’s notice prior to the Aug. 2 meeting of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, a spaceport spokesperson said. Meeting minutes indicate the board appointed Tim Reid, the spaceport’s director of operations, as acting CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is undertaken. Board members also thanked Lindner for his service.

Funding is provided through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, Space Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Gov. Ron DeSantis PR) – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced $13 million in awards to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority new infrastructure at the Cecil Airport and Spaceport. This funding will support the construction of nearly two miles of roadway and extend the corresponding utilities to provide access to underdeveloped property located on the east side of Cecil Airport and Spaceport. This project will more than double the number of jobs available at the facility, bringing the total number of jobs at the airport and spaceport to 6,251. Of the $13 million in funding, $6 million is from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, $4 million from the Florida Department of Transportation, and Space Florida is contributing $3 million.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Cecil Air and Spaceport PR) — A new 126-foot air traffic control tower and mission control center officially opened for operations in a ceremony at Cecil Air and Spaceport today. The mission control center was dedicated to astronaut Dr. Norman Thagard, a graduate of Paxon High School in Jacksonville.

MOJAVE, Calif. (MASP PR) — A new Chief Executive Officer will take the controls of the Mojave Air and Spaceport (MASP) in April.

Todd Lindner, former Director of the Jacksonville, Florida, Aviation Authority’s Cecil Spaceport , was selected by members of the Mojave Air and Spaceport board of directors from more than 100 applications.

A veteran pilot, Lindner will be the first person with airport management experience to manage the Mojave Air and Spaceport.

“With 30 years of aviation management experience, Todd Lindner understands the unique financial and operating requirements of an air and spaceport,” said Jim Balentine, president of the MASP board of directors. 

MOJAVE, Calif. — A new Chief Executive Officer will take the controls of the Mojave Air and Space Port (MASP) in April.

Todd Lindner, former Director of the Jacksonville, Florida, Aviation Authority’s Cecil Spaceport, was selected by members of the Mojave Air and Spaceport board of directors from more than 100 applications.

A veteran pilot, Lindner will be the first person with airport management experience to manage the Mojave Air and Space Port.

“With 30 years of aviation management experience, Todd Lindner understands the unique financial and operating requirements of an air and spaceport,” said Jim Balentine, president of the MASP board of directors.

DARPA Launch Challenge candidate sites (Credit: DARPA)

ARLINGTON, Va. (NASA PR) — DARPA has narrowed the potential launch locations for the DARPA Launch Challenge to eight, with options for both vertical and horizontal launch. The challenge will culminate in late 2019 with two separate launches to low Earth orbit within weeks of each other from two different sites. Competitors will receive information about the final launch sites, payloads, and targeted orbit in the weeks prior to each launch.

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The Jacksonville Aviation Authority has received an $1.8 million matching grant from Space Florida to fund the design and construction of a space operations center, payload preparation facility and rocket motor test facility at Cecil Spaceport, the Jacksonville Daily Record reports. Space Florida, which is the state’s space promotional agency, approved the funding at a board meeting in June. Cecil Airport is a public joint civil-military airport and spaceport. It […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 24, 2015 (FSDC PR) – Space Florida’s budget is in play during the ongoing Legislative Session in Tallahassee. The agency typically receives $10 million for its operations, which the House has budgeted, but the Senate offers only $8 million this year. Furthermore, the Senate’s budget language would prohibit any spending on the Shiloh launch site  until after an FAA environmental impact report is issued, vetted by Florida’s […]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Space Florida PR) — On September 11th, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority will host its biennual Cecil Spaceport Summit at the Jacksonville Hyatt. While the first event in 2012 was more focused on educating legislators on issues pertaining to the commercial space industry, the upcoming Summit will take on more of a workshop format for interested launch site operators and launch providers. The goal will be to not only address key industry questions but also increase the visibility and offerings of the Cecil Spaceport.

Space Florida President Frank DiBello will serve as the morning keynote at this year’s event and will address strategies to keep Florida first in the global space market.

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Captive carry flight (Credit: Generation Orbit)

ATLANTA, GA, JULY 31, 2014 – Yesterday, Generation Orbit Launch Services, Inc. (GO) completed the initial captive carry flight of the Flight Experiment Testbed (GO-FET). Operating out of Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, FL, the three hour test flight served as an demonstration of air launch operations both on the ground and in flight.

The flight configuration consisted of a Learjet 35 carrier aircraft with a standardized pod integrated to a wing hardpoint. The set of payloads carried within the pod were designed to gather environmental and dynamics data on propellant management, payload integration, and wireless communications.

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