14 DAY TRIAL // The American space agency has just issued a notice related to the availability of certain capabilities located at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida. These space processing and support facilities were used for the shuttles, but NASA will soon have no additional use for them.
As such, the agency is interested in determining whether the space industry has any interest in the available facilities or not. If an interesting proposition comes along, the KSC facilities in question might be reassigned following the end of the Space Shuttle Program.
At this point, this is scheduled to take place in early July 2011, after the space shuttle Atlantis returns from its final flight (STS-135) to the International Space Station (ISS). Take-off is planned for June 28, and the mission will spend 12 days in low-Earth orbit (LEO).
After Atlantis returns home, the three functioning shuttles will be rid of their hazardous materials, processed, and then delivered to museums and exhibit centers around the country, for the general public to see. This is when the KSC facilities become available.
According to the NASA announcement, the KSC capabilities that are to be made available could be used to operate, or support the operation of, space launches or user services, for both the government and private companies, SpaceRef reports.
“Kennedy has been working for some time to enable commercial space activities at the center that are in line with NASA's mission,” says the director of the KSC, Bob Cabana.
“Partnering with the commercial space industry will help NASA meet its goals and help sustain facility assets to support our nation's space objectives,” the official goes on to say.
There are currently four class of facilities that those interested can select from, related to space vehicle processing and launch, off-line processing, payload processing, and miscellaneous applications.
Some of the most notable KSC landmarks that could pass on to other operators include the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the largest structure on the KSC, both launch pads (39A and 39B), the Shuttle Processing Facilities and the Shuttle Landing Facility.
Even if it has already launched a formal Notice of Availability (NOA) and also a Request for Information (RFI), NASA reserves the right to withdraw various facilities from the availability list at any time, if it determines that some of its future space programs may require them.
“This announcement describes NASA assets that are currently or will soon become underutilized as a result of the transition from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) to the future mission activities authorized by Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010,” the official notice reads.