Commercial Spaceport Development
The Midland International Air & Space Port was granted its Commercial Space Launch Site license by the FAA on September 17, 2014. It is the first primary commercial service airport to be given a spaceport designation. Midland is now able to accommodate a wide range of aerospace and aviation businesses and has numerous assets to offer:
- Friendly business climate
- Predictable local and state regulatory environment
- State of Texas Tort Reform
- 40 acres of land for commercial space flight and aerospace development
- Progressive management approach to maintaining and improving crucial infrastructure, including the airport’s runways and taxiways
- Co-located with Midland International Airport
- Ground leases available for build to suit facilities
Spaceport Tenants
XCOR Aerospace Research and Development Headquarters
XCOR Aerospace has established their Research and Development Headquarters in Midland. The forward-thinking company manufactures reusable rocket engines for major aerospace prime contractors and is the designer, manufacturer and operator of the Lynx, a winged fully reusable, high performance suborbital space vehicle that is designed to safely carry two persons or scientific experiments to the edge of space and back up to four times per day.
Orbital Outfitters
Orbital Outfitters has now become the second tenant of the groundbreaking Midland International Air & Spaceport. Orbital Outfitters is a NewSpace company that provides a range of services to vehicle developers and other companies in the aerospace sector. Orbital Outfitters’ two primary lines of business are the development of space and pressure suits and the fabrication of full scale vehicle mockups for either engineering or PR purposes. Orbital Outfitters’ first suit, the IS³, was based upon requirements from XCOR Aerospace, also located at the Midland Spaceport, and we expect that an incarnation of this suit will serve XCOR’s needs in the future.