One of the reasons Amazon decided to build a new $120 million project on Florida's Space Coast is a Brevard County infrastructure investment that allows for an expedited construction timeline, according to Amazon's Steve Metayer, vice president of production operations for Project Kuiper.
Seattle-based Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) was the first company to sign a lease at the Merritt Island Launch & Landing Facility, committing $120 million to build a 100,000-plus-square-foot satellite processing facility for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s satellite broadband network. The announcement was made July 21.
Part of the Space Florida and Florida Department of Transportation collaboration — the Spaceport Improvement Program — the Launch & Landing Facility utility project is one of several projects designed to help the Sunshine State draw more commercial space activity and the economic benefits it provides, said Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault, former FDOT secretary, in a prepared statement.
The project uses NASA-owned land, unused space adjacent a runway that originally was an essential part of the Space Shuttle program from 1981-2011, said Space Florida CEO and President Frank DiBello.
“It was the principal NASA facility for landing the shuttle and that was its only mission during that time,” he said. By 2013 when Space Florida signed a contract to manage 2,000 acres of that land — of which about 600 acres were developable — it had fallen into relative disrepair.
The runway still was operational, an occasional landing spot for aircraft like the huge Ukrainian Antonov that brought satellites to be launched from Cape Canaveral. Other than that, there was little activity. Space Florida maintained the runway, but in 2021, a major investment was kicked off in earnest, he said.
Space Florida partnered with Florida Power & Light to add utilities to the facility, so any business leasing space could start to build immediately. The utilities include water, power and fiber internet access.
The project still is ongoing, with another 1.3-mile stretch of utility connections in the works.
Orlando Business Journal spoke with Metayer to find out why Brevard County’s Launch & Landing Facility was such an appealing place for Amazon to touch down.
As you considered your options for places to build a satellite processing facility, what kind of site did you look for?
We wanted to be close to our launch partners. We're going to build our satellites in Seattle, but it’s much easier for us to integrate them into the satellite dispensers and payload fairings close to the launch site. We build a stack of satellites, which can be 70 plus feet high. We don’t want to leave the Space Center for that. We want to get to the launchpads on uncongested roads, with no bridges or utilities in the way.
Did the preparedness of the Launch & Landing Facility play a role?
Yes. We are very much about speed, not just in development, but in building and operationalizing. Having Space Florida bring us properties that had progress on the permitting and with utilities already there, that was very important to us. It helps expedite our timeline.
You’re creating up to 50 new permanent jobs at this site. Are you encouraged by the talent available in Brevard?
There's definitely a workforce element to our decision. There’s a very trained space industry-based workforce as well as schools that know the kinds of positions we need people trained for. There’s a many-decades-long legacy of the space industry to draw from. Brevard is also a place we can move some of our Washington State people to.
About the Launch & Landing Facility
- Formerly a runway primarily used for government operations, redeveloped by Space Florida and partners as a mile-long utility corridor
- Offers ground leasing opportunities for aerospace businesses, taking capital expenses off their books
- Makes aerospace businesses eligible for more efficient and lower cost capital
- Construction of an additional 1.3-mile segment underway with expected completion in 2024
Source: Space Florida
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