Boeing Selects Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 20 To Support X-37 Tests

Press Release Provided To Spaceline By The Spaceport Florida Authority

Edited By Cliff Lethbridge

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL (April 2, 2001) - Boeing and the Spaceport Florida Authority today announced plans to bring the X-37 reusable spaceplane technology program to Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station beginning in 2003. Pending the finalization of agreements, Boeing plans to use the Spaceport Authority's infrastructure at Launch Complex 20, including a launch pad for engine tests, a Horizontal Processing Facility for vehicle processing, and a blockhouse control center. "Boeing needed the best facilities at the lowest cost for X-37, and the Spaceport Florida Authority has developed exactly what they need," said Florida Governor Jeb Bush. "This confirms that Florida remains the site of choice for next-generation space launch programs."

Boeing is developing X-37 for NASA to demonstrate advanced space transportation technologies aimed at reducing the cost of access to space. X-37 is 27.5 feet long, with a 15-foot wingspan and total weight of about six tons. The vehicle includes an experiment bay measuring seven feet in length with a four foot diameter. NASA plans to launch the X-37 atop an expendable rocket in 2004 from Cape Canaveral. After operations in orbit, the unmanned craft would return to Earth for re-use. The Spaceport Florida Authority was established by Florida's governor and legislature to support the retention, expansion and diversification of the state's space-related industry. Empowered as a transportation authority, the Spaceport Florida Authority financed, owns or operates several launch support facilities at Cape Canaveral and elsewhere in the state, including three launch complexes, a hangar for reusable launch vehicles, a launch control center, a launch vehicle integration facility, a rocket motor storage facility, and other multi-user infrastructure.

For More Information, Contact:

Edward Ellegood
Spaceport Florida Authority
100 Spaceport Way
Cape Canaveral, Florida 32931
321-730-5301, ext. 1105

Copyright © 2001 by Spaceline, Inc.