Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark
Encyclopedia
- For the military use of the facility before 1969 see Clinton-Sherman Air Force BaseClinton-Sherman Air Force BaseClinton-Sherman Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located near the town of Burns Flat in Washita County, Oklahoma, 15 miles southwest of the city of Clinton, Oklahoma....
The Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark, also known as the Oklahoma Spaceport is a newly authorized spaceport
Spaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories...
near Burns Flat, Oklahoma
Burns Flat, Oklahoma
Burns Flat is a town in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,057 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Burns Flat is located at ....
, in the western part of the state. The Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) granted a license to the site in June 2006 to the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority
Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority
The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority is a development authority created by the state of Oklahoma to operate a spaceport near Burns Flat, Oklahoma....
(OSIDA) to "oversee the takeoff and landing of suborbital, reusable launch vehicles". The license expires in five years and requires regular safety inspections by the FAA. Individual operators must also secure a separate license in order to make space flights
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
from the facility.
Facilities
The airpark is at the site of a public airfield known as Clinton-Sherman Airport . The airport covers an area of 1690 acres (683.9 ha) which contains two concreteConcrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s: 17R/35L measuring 13,503 x 150 ft (45.7 m). and 17L/35R measuring 5,193 x 75 ft. (1,583 x 23 m). The longer of these, at 13,503 x 150 ft (4,116 x 46 m) is a major benefit for use as a spaceport.
For the 12-month period ending May 2, 2006, the airport had 49,500 aircraft operations, an average of 135 per day: 98% military and 2% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
.
The location is a 2,700 acre (10.8 km²) facility located near transportation corridors such as Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
and Interstate 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
. There are 96 acres (384,000 m²) of parking space able to support large commercial aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. There are six commercial aircraft hangars and a 50,000 square-foot (4,500 m²) manufacturing facility with loading docks adjacent to a railway spur.
History
The United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
established a naval air station on 5,000 acres (20 km²) at this location in 1942 to train pilots during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The outlines of the original runways are still visible in some overhead photos of the current airport. After the war ended, the naval air station was closed and the site was temporarily turned into a civilian airport. A portion of the airfield was leased by Sherman Iron Works for use in salvaging surplus combat aircraft and parts from thousands of surplus aircraft from the war. The military returned in 1954 and converted the site into an Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
facility known as Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base. The name is derived from the nearby city of Clinton
Clinton, Oklahoma
Clinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 9,033 at the 2010 census.-History:The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E...
and the Sherman Iron Works. The Air Force built the long runway to support B-52 bombers. The base was closed at the end of 1969, although the military still intermittently uses the airport for training purposes, such as touch-and-go landings of tankers and cargo aircraft. The base has now become the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark, home to a limited amount of industrial and general aviation activity.
Licensing
"This is a tremendous opportunity for Oklahoma," said OSIDA Director Bill Khourie. "The benefits are just enormous as to what can branch out from this." He claims that this site will have advantages over the other licensed sites because it is the first that will use the national airspace system without governmentGovernment
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
restrictions. Khourie said, "Other spaceports are utilizing restricted airspace and must receive approval from military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
agencies. We are not going to be restricted by that situation. That's a plus for the operators operating out of this facility."
The receipt of a launch site operator license gives Oklahoma a good position in the nascent space tourism
Space tourism
Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
industry — a market which is also being targeted by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New Mexico
New Mexico Spaceport Authority
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority is a non-governmental panel, appointed by the Governor of New Mexico, whose members represent the public sector in the development and construction of Spaceport America, a facility, under construction as of March 2011, that is expected to be the first...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, as well as Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. Other spaceport licenses have already been issued to two facilities in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and one each in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, according to the FAA.
Operations
One company, Rocketplane KistlerRocketplane Kistler
Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable spacecraft firm originally based in Oklahoma before moving to Wisconsin. Formed in 2006 by Rocketplane Limited, Inc...
, formerly based in Oklahoma, had plans to build a spacecraft and, as of 2006, had plans to offer commercial space flights from the Oklahoma Spaceport by 2009.
Rocketplane Kistler is an umbrella enterprise comprising two private aerospace firms dedicated to establishing a reusable space craft industry; Rocketplane Limited, Inc.
Rocketplane Limited, Inc.
Rocketplane Limited, Inc. is a defunct aerospace design and development company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with facilities in Guthrie, Oklahoma and Burns Flat, Oklahoma.- History :...
and Kistler Aerospace. Before a vehicle could be launched, the individual operator would still be required to obtain a separate launch license from the FAA. Rocketplane is working on completing its license application and expects to begin "a fairly extensive flight test program" in 2007. The company's executive vice president, David Urie
David Urie
Prior to June 2007, David Urie was Vice-President and Program Manager of Rocketplane Limited, Inc. where he managed the design of the Rocketplane XP....
, said he was "elated" to hear that the proposed spaceport had received its license. "It's extremely important...It was an absolute necessity for our plans that they've achieved this licensing. Rocketplane Kistler, Global and Rocketplane Holdings declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010. "
Armadillo Aerospace conducted flight test Activities at the Oklahoma Spaceport in 2004 through 2009, including tests of a VTVL Lander and a Rocket Racer for the Rocket Racing League.