Space Florida CEO Frank DiBello won’t take credit for the state landing the U.S. Space Force's Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) at Patrick Space Force Base in Brevard County.
However, he will talk about the collaborative efforts that made it happen — yet a close look at his track record at Space Florida reveals that his leadership has been instrumental.
In March, DiBello announced he’ll retire this year, so in light of that coupled with the crowning achievement of STARCOM’s eminent arrival, Orlando Inno asked him to share a retrospective on his time with Space Florida and a look ahead to the agency’s future. Here's what he had to say:
Would you say that STARCOM coming to Florida is one of the major accomplishments of your time at Space Florida?
I believe it is. And that's not taking personal credit. I think the fact that we had a vision for Florida and the space industry and space port system in Florida is a major factor as to why we're successful today with STARCOM. Ten years ago, the industry focus was on launch. In fact, we were launching only rockets that were built elsewhere, and we were launching six to eight a year. I said ‘We’re going to broaden the industry. Diversify. We’re going to build the supply chain.’ And so we set out to attract spacecraft manufacturing, satellite manufacturing and space processing capabilities. We started to think about the space port no longer as one site or one location like at the Space Coast of the cape, but that the entire state is the space port system.
How has this played out?
Florida openly embraced this change in the industry, so today we have a very diversified industry. We focused on the capacity and capability of the space infrastructure that we built. Roads, rails, bridges, power grids, commodities flow, ports — everything that enables the flow of goods and materials and operations for space operations — we have that. We have a dramatic increase in the number of launches. We attracted companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. We're building two different spacecraft here, soon to be three. We're building satellites in a number of places around the state.
Why do you think Florida was chosen for STARCOM?
Florida is already home to the most active and best staffed launch site with a strong space operations culture, as well as being home to the world’s recognized capital of simulation, modeling, digital domain and gaming technologies. Both of those areas are critical elements in the training and preparation of the nation's next generation of Space Force Guardians. So, in my mind, this is a real recognition of Florida as a forward-thinking, innovative environment with a strong commercial space industry based here that's already rapidly developing and adapting new space technologies and operations thinking.
What made Patrick Space Force Base a contender for STARCOM?
A lot of the groundwork for STARCOM was put together during the first pursuit of Space Command Combatant Command Headquarters. In that proposal process, we crystallized the strengths that Florida has by working with several communities throughout the state that potentially could be home to the headquarters. But the ground rules for the STARCOM proposal stated that it had to come from a Space Force base, so this time, only Patrick was proposed, since that’s the only Space Force base we have in Florida.
Beyond the state’s facilities and infrastructure in general, what does Space Florida bring to the table?
Unique financing skills. We can create financial services entities to finance infrastructure for aerospace companies all over the state.
Where does the money come from?
Since 2010 or 2011, we have financed over $2.7 billion worth of infrastructure for aerospace companies around the state. I would say 94% of that was from private sources. A lot of these capital markets are flush with cash. Even though markets go up and down in terms of their levels of risk tolerance, the reality is that infrastructure is a very secure kind of investment because it's generally utilized for long periods of time and there's always an income flow that comes from it.
Can you give some examples of businesses benefitting from the financing?
A lot of what we do enables private sector finance of research and development facilities and manufacturing facilities around the state. Also, maintenance, repair and overhaul centers for aviation.
What do you see happening with Space Florida in the years to come?
The vision is to make Florida the world’s leading ground node for the new space economy in the next decade. We financed $2.7 billion worth infrastructure, and we probably have more than $5 billion in our backlog right now. What I really want us to do is take that to $10 billion by the end of the decade. In this next decade we will see the growth of a new economy in space with more people going there as the cost of transportation comes down. They’ll be going up to do work, to move things around, to refuel things, to fix things, to do research and to manufacture in space. We've already financed one of the first 3D printers in space. If we can continue to finance infrastructure on the ground that enables people to work up there, there's no reason why we can't finance the destination sites as well, making Florida the ground node for the new space economy that's evolving. I envision companies operating out of Florida infrastructure and assets owned in Florida being leased out for use in space. In a way, the value of that infrastructure and the value of those assets never leaves Florida.
The search for Space Florida’s next CEO
Search committee: Board members Sonya Deen-Hartley, Rodney Cruise, Mori Hosseini, and board chair Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez as well as FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue, who is not a board member
Timing: DiBello is set to retire June 30, but has indicated to the board that he is willing to stay until a new individual is selected.
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