Senator Ashley Moody is advancing efforts to bring National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters to Florida. Today, Senator Moody led a roundtable at Space Florida with industry leaders, aerospace economists, and university presidents to discuss relocating the federal space administration. Leaders in Florida’s aerospace industry participated in the discussion that took place one week after Senator Moody introduced the Consolidating Aerospace Programs Efficiently (CAPE) at Canaveral Act. The CAPE Canaveral Act would move NASA headquarters to Florida’s Space Coast – the ideal location for rocket launches, partnerships with private space companies, and a robust, skilled aerospace workforce.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “We are working with leaders in the space industry to advance our efforts to bring NASA headquarters to Florida. Today’s discussion highlighted just how well-situated Florida’s Space Coast is for this monumental move, and how this effort would improve efficiency, foster collaboration with private space companies and capitalize on our well-trained, highly skilled aeronautical workforce. It would also boost our economy, increase tourism, and solidify Florida as the Space State. I am proud to be the sponsor of the CAPE Canaveral Act and will continue fighting in Washington to bring NASA headquarters here where it belongs.”
Friday’s roundtable discussion took place at Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority. Participants included:
– Interim President Jeanette Nuñez, Florida International University and Space Florida
– Congressman Mike Haridopolos, FL-8
– Rob Long, President & CEO, Space Florida
– Interim President Kent Fuchs, University of Florida
– President P. Barry Butler, Embry-Riddle University
– Rodney Cruise, SVP and Chief Operating Officer, Embry-Riddle
– Dr. Philip Metzger, University of Central Florida
– President Lynda Weatherman, EDC Florida’s Space Coast
Cape Canaveral is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, seaport facilities at Port Canaveral, and the headquarters of Space Florida. U.S. Space Force Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) is headquartered just miles away at Patrick Space Force Base. Recent private investments highlight Cape Canaveral as the vanguard of future achievements in space exploration and potentially the home for the inaugural missions to Mars.
Florida has long been the preeminent location for space exploration and aerospace technological development dating back to the 1958 founding of NASA and the ambitious Apollo missions to the moon launched from Kennedy Space Center. The State of Florida has since fostered private aerospace development through the creation of Space Florida in 2006 to attract private industry to invest in innovation and launch infrastructure in Florida. President Donald J. Trump’s creation of the Space Force within the Department of Defense has bolstered Florida’s importance to aerospace competition and defense due to the location of Space Force training facilities near Kennedy Space Center.
