Plan to launch spacecraft from Paso Robles airport takes a key step forward
The city of Paso Robles is one step closer to getting a license to allow spacecraft to take off and land from its municipal airport.
On March 4, the Paso Robles City Council unanimously voted to direct staff to make preparations to complete the Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Spaceport License application process, the city said in a news release.
Staff were directed to prepare a request for proposals for the project, the release said.
The move is the latest update in the city’s years-long goal to advance its Spaceport and Technology Corridor initiative — a project aimed at creating an economic hub for aerospace engineering in Paso Robles, in partnership with educational institutions like Cal Poly, Cuesta College and even K-12 career technical education programs.
“Paso Robles has always been a community built on innovation, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit,” Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon said in the release. “Pursuing an FAA horizontal spaceport license positions our city to participate in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy. This initiative has the potential to attract high-tech investment, create skilled career opportunities, and inspire the next generation of aerospace leaders right here in our community.”
So far, the city has already established a micropropulsion testing site at its 1,300-acre airport lot, economic development manager Paul Sloan said during a joint City Council, Planning Commission and Airport Commission meeting last week.
Three aerospace engineering firms and Cal Poly were using the site, Sloan said.
The city’s pursuit of a spaceport license received support from local political leaders, aerospace engineering organizations and even NASA, according to letters of support linked in the release.
The city said it will release the request for proposals in the “very near future” and will bring the item back to the City Council for approval after applications are reviewed.
