Park is first step in space race

But this new space race is an economic one, and Florida hopes the research park will help put it in the lead.

By KYLE PARKS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 6, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- When crew members start living in the International Space Station this year, they won't spend their days just looking at stars.

They'll be running tests designed to help people live more comfortably in space. They may figure out how plants fare in low-gravity conditions or how space affects the growth of crystals used in computer chips.

But the plans for such tests will be hatched on the ground, and that's where Florida economic development officials see a major opportunity.

As part of the state budget passed Friday, the Florida Legislature authorized $10-million to start construction of a research park on a 400-acre site near Cape Canaveral's launch pads. The first 100,000-square-foot building will house research initiatives for the space station.

"Most of the industry on the Space Coast is now geared to production," said Greg Moore, who runs space programs for Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development organization. "But the space station gives us a chance to broaden that."

A group of 16 countries is working to build the space station, scheduled to be completed by 2006. This year, it is supposed to have a full-time crew that will finish building the station and run scientific tests.

The space park, called the Space Experiments and Research Processing Laboratory, could be used by any space-related industries. But state officials hope much of it will house research divisions of pharmaceutical, agricultural and biomedical companies planning to run space station tests.

The cost of the park: $22-million. Economic development officials plan to ask the Legislature for the rest of the funding next year.

If the state fills the park with researchers from companies, governments and universities, it could recoup its investment. The NASA space station program plans to pay $1.5-million a year to set up shop in the park, Moore said, and other tenants also would pay rent.

"We have been talking to companies for almost a year about this," Moore said. "As NASA picks companies to run tests on the station, we hope those companies will move operations into the park."

The park is a major element of Florida's effort to compete in today's version of the space race.

This time the race isn't about who can put astronauts into space but about reaping economic benefits as the industry becomes more sophisticated.

Florida's space industry research park will be the first of its kind in the country, Moore said. The state also hopes to be chosen as the launch site for the next generation of flight, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s VentureStar program.

There are 14 other states in the bidding, including California, Texas and Nevada, along with countries such as Brazil and Japan. The VentureStar is billed as a reusable spaceship that could go into orbit and later cruise home.

Lockheed Martin is expected to pick a site within the next three years. Estimated cost to build the first three vehicles: more than $10-billion.

Building the research park won't directly help Florida in its quest for VentureStar, but it can't hurt, economic development officials say.

"We have the best launch site in the world," said Tony Villamil, director of the state's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. "We want to use that to our advantage."

-- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

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