Creating of Dual Use Space Launch Facility

Creating of Dual Use Space Launch Facility

Organization: DRPM Strategic Systems Program

Team Name: Lunar Prospecting Team

Related Acquisition Topic(s): Partnering

Description:

The Lunar Prospector Team exemplifies a unique and innovative partnership between the Spaceport Florida Authority, the Air Force and NASA, and the Navy's Strategic Systems Program (SSP).

In an effort to reduce the costs of maintenance and preserve the capability for future development program testing, SSP entered into an agreement granting use of its complex at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit for commercial space ventures. In the partnership with the Spaceport Florida Authority, the Air Force 45th Space Wing and NASA, SSP allows development and use of its launch complex on the Cape Canaveral Air Station, last used as a test pad for the Trident II (D-5) Fleet Ballistic Missile System. This partnership creates the nation's first dual-use space launch facility envisioned by the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1986.

On January 6, 1998, Lunar Prospector, a scientific research satellite designed by the Lunar Research Institute, began a journey from Launch Complex 46 and subsequently discovered the existence of water at both lunar poles. The Navy's cooperation in the venture ensured that the cost to the taxpayer was $15 million less than it would have been if a new or different launch site had been necessary.

DRPM Strategic Systems Program

Lunar Prospecting Team