Res Communis

Federal Register: Notice of Availability and Request for Comment on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) Launch Site Operator License at Cecil Field, Florida (FL)

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The FAA Office of Commercial Space Trasnportation published a Notice of Availability and Request for Comment on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) Launch Site Operator License at Cecil Field, Florida (FL) in today’s Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 18274-18275):

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended ((NEPA) 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on the EA for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) Launch Site Operator License at Cecil Field, FL.

The EA was prepared in response to an application for a Launch Site Operator License from the JAA. Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue a Launch Site Operator License to JAA to operate a facility for horizontal launches and landings of suborbital manned reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). These vehicles, when operated out of Cecil Field, could carry space flight participants, scientific experiments, or payloads. The proposed launch site is located within the city limits of the City of Jacksonville, FL in Duval County, approximately 15 miles
southwest of downtown Jacksonville. The EA addresses the potential
environmental impacts of issuing a Launch Site Operator License for the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative.

The EA has not yet been posted on the FAA website.