{"id":80679,"date":"2013-07-09T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T12:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/oklahoma-officials-say-state-is-ripe-for-satellite-industry-opportunities\/"},"modified":"2013-07-09T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2013-07-09T12:46:07","slug":"oklahoma-officials-say-state-is-ripe-for-satellite-industry-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/oklahoma-officials-say-state-is-ripe-for-satellite-industry-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Officials say State is Ripe for Satellite Industry Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nUmicore, a Belgian aerospace company, manufactures solar panel wafers to power satellites in its Oklahoma facility.
\n<\/i>
\nImage credit: Umicore\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

[Satellite TODAY 07-09-13] Placing Oklahoma on the map as a potential satellite launch venue is not an easy task, according to Oklahoma\u2019s Secretary of Science and Technology, Stephen McKeever.<\/p>\n

   \u201cPerception is one of the biggest challenges. Oklahoma always been overlooked in the past. We\u2019ve always been a flyover state and we want to be a fly-to state,\u201d McKeever said.<\/p>\n

    Oklahoma\u2019s first female governor, Mary Fallin, has hit the ground running with an aggressive aerospace campaign to let the world know \u201cOklahoma is open for business,\u201d McKeever said, noting that there are key opportunities available for the satellite industry.<\/p>\n

   In 2011, Fallin created the Governor\u2019s Unmanned Aerial\u00e2\u20ac\u00a8Systems Council, including representatives from the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry, state\u00e2\u20ac\u00a8 government and academia. And last month both McKeever and Fallin traveled to the Paris Airshow to lead a delegation of aerospace executives and state officials to convey that very message.<\/p>\n

      \u201cThe Paris Air Show and other events like it give the state of Oklahoma the chance to showcase our unique assets to a broad international audience of high-level aerospace executives,\u201d Fallin said during an exclusive interview with SatelliteTODAY.com.<\/i> \u201cWe believe this exposure ultimately leads to job creation and increased investment,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

     According to Fallin, Ferra Engineering<\/b>, a leading global aerospace supplier based in Australia, announced at the Paris Airshow that it was expanding into Grove, Okla. Fallin also noted that at the 2012 Farnborough International Air Show in England, the Belgium-based firm ASCO<\/b> announced the opening of a $60 million facility in Stillwater, Okla. expected to create at least 250 jobs. <\/p>\n

     \u201cAdditionally, Oklahoma companies report millions of dollars of sales each year at the Farnborough and Paris shows. Our experiences reinforce the idea that a strong state presence at these air shows is an important part of supporting the growth of this industry,\u201d Fallin said.<\/p>\n

    More recently, in March 2013, Oklahoma hosted the UAS Summit, which provided a platform for state government representatives to describe its plans and objectives for a variety of applications including agriculture, advanced weather monitoring, and law enforcement\/military applications.<\/p>\n

    Both McKeever and Fallin said it is not only important to attract business to Oklahoma, but it is also equally important to have an available skilled work force. \u201cStudents need to be educated about the aerospace careers that are available to them, and about how satisfying and rewarding they are financially,\u201d McKeever said.<\/p>\n

   McKeever also noted that lack of information about aerospace educational opportunities is a global problem. \u201cIt\u2019s not an Oklahoma problem, it\u2019s a national problem. We don\u2019t tell students these are the careers available and you need to do x, y and z in your studies to get there,\u201d McKever said and added that Oklahoma is committed to changing this.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe wont wait for the federal government to do things for us, that\u2019s not the Oklahoma way. We will take this on ourselves and intend to address this very aggressively to form public-private partnerships to encourage students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    Although Oklahoma is best known for its oil and gas sectors, and perhaps as the birthplace of Cessna<\/b>, it also holds roots in other sectors of the aerospace industry, said McKeever. \u201cIt\u2019s been in our genes from the very beginning, we have built a large industry in the defense sector and civilian sectors,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

     Tulsa, Okla. is already home to American Airlines<\/b> maintenance and repair facilities and Boeing <\/b>has opened a massive operation in Oklahoma City last year to modernize U.S. Air Force<\/b> equipment. And now, McKeever said he sees a great potential for the satellite industry in Oklahoma. \u201cI think our first target will be the launch of the small communications satellites. These could be private satellites, or military,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    McKeever added that the idea is that with suitable vehicles, Oklahoma sites could \u201cmanage a fast turn around of four to five flights per day. We\u2019re talking about smaller satellites, that\u2019s the immediate market we are able to make a mark in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    McKeever said Oklahoma already has \u201can educated and trained workforce they can use to grow their businesses,\u201d and can offer a high quality of life with a low cost of living, and low taxes. The state also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S., and state officials believe that Oklahoma will prove to be business-friendly. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor<\/b> statistics, Oklahoma had a 5 percent unemployment rate as of May 2013 \u2013 2.5 percent lower than the national average of 7.5 percent.<\/p>\n

    McKeever believes once companies begin to see the advantages of doing business in Oklahoma, benefits will trickle down across the state. \u201cThis will bring in quality jobs, and give opportunities to citizens coming out of Oklahoma colleges. Tax revenues will start to flow and this will benefit everybody in the state, regardless of if they are a part of the aerospace industry or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

     While McKeever could not discuss ongoing negotiations with satellite or aerospace companies, SpaceX<\/b> officials said they currently use two U.S. sites for its launches: Cape Canaveral in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX is currently shopping for a third venue.<\/p>\n

     \u201cSpaceX is in the process of looking for a third [launch location]. We narrowed down sites this year to Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico,\u201d said Christina R, director of SpaceX\u2019s communications, who noted the company has no immediate plans to consider Oklahoma but would not rule out future possibilities of conducting business there.
\n     Meanwhile, Boeing officials said they were pleased with Oklahoma\u2019s business climate. \u201cBoeing appreciates the competitive business environment created by Oklahoma\u2019s elected officials and supports efforts to position Oklahoma for future growth and technological leadership,\u201d said Chamila Jayaweera with Boeing\u2019s state and local advocacy group.<\/p>\n

     \u201cCommunity and state leaders in Oklahoma have done an excellent job
\nsupporting aerospace companies and working with Boeing across the state to better understand the company\u2019s current and future business requirements,\u201d she added noting that when Boeing shops for a new venue it considers several key factors such as \u201caffordability, proximity to customers, a business friendly environment and talent pool among others,\u201d Jayaweera said.<\/p>\n

     According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)<\/b>, the U.S. currently has more than a dozen spaceports and launch sites, including the Oklahoma Spaceport located in Western Oklahoma about 100 miles west of Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nOklahoma\u2019s Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) features a 2700 acre facility including a 13,503 ft x 300 ft runway and a 32,000 square foot maintenance facility.<\/i>
\nImage credit: OSIDA\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     Since the FAA officially licensed the Oklahoma\u2019s Space Industry Develop Authority<\/b> (OSIDA)<\/b> in 2006, the site has yet to see any launches, said OSIDA\u2019s Executive Director Bill Khourie during an exclusive interview with SatelliteTODAY.com<\/i>. While the site has only been used for research and development and hovering maneuvers, Khourie remains optimistic that launches will be scheduled in the future.<\/p>\n

     \u201cWe also have the only suborbital space flight corridor that\u2019s been approved in the United States that is not within restricted airspace or military operating areas,\u201d Khourie said noting that the site has a 13,500-foot runway.<\/p>\n

     He also noted that OSIDI is currently in discussions with a variety of companies but could not reveal which ones. \u201cWe really think the future for launches is bright for us,\u201d he said, adding that Oklahoma has \u201cincredible infrastructure already in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

     Fallin agreed and said Oklahoma already has a significant aerospace workforce. \u201cThere are already close to 500 aerospace companies in our state and more than 143,000 Oklahomans working in aerospace-related jobs, most of which pay significantly more than the average salary. Clearly, this is an important industry for us and one that is ripe for growth and expansion,\u201d Fallin said.<\/p>\n

     According to Frank Price with the FAA\u2019s communication team, Oklahoma is not the only state jumping on board. The administration has received interest for additional launch sites in several states including in Colorado and the Sheboygan Spaceport in Wisconsin, he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Umicore, a Belgian aerospace company, manufactures solar panel wafers to power satellites in its Oklahoma facility. Image credit: Umicore [Satellite TODAY 07-09-13] Placing Oklahoma on the map as a potential satellite launch venue is not an easy task, according to Oklahoma\u2019s Secretary of Science and Technology, Stephen McKeever.    \u201cPerception is one of the biggest challenges. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}