Press Release

NASA and Florida Join Forces to Develop Space Science Facility

By SpaceRef Editor
February 8, 2001
Filed under ,

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACEPORT–Florida Lt. Governor Frank Brogan and
Kennedy Space Center Director Roy Bridges broke ground today for the
construction of a 100,000 square-foot research facility and a 1.5
mile section of roadway made possible through a unique partnership
between NASA and the State of Florida.  The Space Experiment
Research & Processing Laboratory (SERPL) will be the magnet
facility for a proposed 400-acre Space Commerce Park, located south
of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

"The SERPL facility and the Commerce Park will contribute to the
expansion and diversification of NASA, commercial, academic, and
international space programs in our state," said Lt. Governor
Brogan.  "Together with NASA, Florida is investing in the
success of the International Space Station, and in the commercial
potential for space-related research and technology development in
our state."

The SERPL facility will support the development and processing of
life sciences experiments destined for the International Space
Station and accommodate NASA, industry and academic researchers
performing associated biological research.   The Florida
Space Research Institute and the University of Florida will have a
permanent presence within SERPL and will be using the facility for
biological and space-related academic and research activities.

Facility design is being performed by Flad & Associates;
Affiliated Engineers, SE, Inc.; and Jones, Edmunds & Associates,
Inc. Under a contract with NASA.  The facility construction will
be managed by Bovis Lend Lease under a contract with the Florida
Department of Management Services and the Spaceport Florida
Authority.  Upon completion in 2003, the SERPL activities will
be co-managed by the Florida Space Research Institute and NASA.

The roadway, to be known as Space Commerce Way, will lead
through the Space Commerce Park and the public by providing a 24-hour
access route through John F. Kennedy Space Center.  The road
will connect Kennedy Parkway (State Road 3) with the NASA Causeway
(State Road 405) and will enable 24-hour public access to the
Commerce Park and the Visitor Complex.  The road is being
designed and constructed by Jones, Edmunds & Associates, Inc.,
under a NASA contract with construction funded by a Florida
Department of Transportation project grant.  Funding for the
second phase design and construction will be through NASA
(non-appropriated) funds under the management of the Kennedy Space
Center Visitor Complex Concessioner.

"SERPL and the unprecedented opportunities for
collaboration that it represents are key to Kennedy’s evolution to a
recognized center for research and technology development." said
Roy Bridges.  "We expect this partnership to pay dividends
to NASA, the State of Florida, and the space industry well into the
future.&quot

Edward Ellegood
Spaceport Florida Authority
100 Spaceport Way
Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920-4003
321-730-5301, ext. 1105 (phone); 321-730-5307 (fax); 321-698-9101
(cell)

SpaceRef staff editor.