| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the space industry; providing a short |
| 3 | title; providing legislative findings; amending s. |
| 4 | 331.3051, F.S.; revising duties of Space Florida to |
| 5 | include supporting the development and operation of the |
| 6 | Space Transportation Research and Development Institute; |
| 7 | creating s. 331.365, F.S.; establishing the Space |
| 8 | Transportation Research and Development Institute within |
| 9 | the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development as |
| 10 | a multiuniversity initiative to pursue federal sponsorship |
| 11 | of space transportation research and technology programs; |
| 12 | providing for duties and administration; providing that |
| 13 | the act does not require appropriation of funds or |
| 14 | assignment of personnel resources by the Office of |
| 15 | Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Short title.--This act may be cited as the |
| 21 | "Space Transportation Research and Development Institute Act." |
| 22 | Section 2. Legislative findings.--The Legislature finds |
| 23 | and declares that the anticipated impacts of the National |
| 24 | Aeronautics and Space Administration's retirement of the Space |
| 25 | Shuttle program reveal an underlying lack of diversification in |
| 26 | Florida's space industry. Florida lags significantly behind |
| 27 | other states in high-value, space-related research and |
| 28 | technology development while its space launch industry suffers |
| 29 | from outdated technologies and increased international and |
| 30 | domestic competition. The Legislature finds that the state |
| 31 | should expand statewide involvement in space research and |
| 32 | technology development programs that will leverage and improve |
| 33 | the state's space transportation industry through |
| 34 | multiuniversity partnerships with industry, the Federal Aviation |
| 35 | Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space |
| 36 | Administration, and the Department of Defense. |
| 37 | Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (8) of |
| 38 | section 331.3051, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 39 | 331.3051 Duties of Space Florida.--Space Florida shall: |
| 40 | (8) Carry out its responsibility for research and |
| 41 | development by: |
| 42 | (c) Supporting the development and operation of the Space |
| 43 | Transportation Research and Development Institute when possible. |
| 44 | Such support may include, but not be limited to: |
| 45 | 1. Providing the institute with advisory support for |
| 46 | defining the focus and scope of multiuniversity projects. |
| 47 | 2. Providing the institute with access to the Cape |
| 48 | Canaveral Spaceport and other spaceport sites in the state, |
| 49 | including launch, laboratory, and processing facilities for |
| 50 | research and program management. |
| 51 | 3. Providing support for the development of the institute |
| 52 | among relevant agencies and policymakers in Washington, D.C., |
| 53 | and this state. |
| 54 | 4. Engaging the institute as a partner in support of space |
| 55 | transportation policy, range and spaceport technology |
| 56 | development, and other space transportation technology programs. |
| 57 | 5. Providing support to institute projects through the |
| 58 | Florida-NASA Matching Grant Program as provided in subsection |
| 59 | (10). |
| 60 | Section 4. Section 331.365, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 61 | to read: |
| 62 | 331.365 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 63 | Development; Space Transportation Research and Development |
| 64 | Institute.-- |
| 65 | (1) There is established within the Office of Tourism, |
| 66 | Trade, and Economic Development a multiuniversity Space |
| 67 | Transportation Research and Development Institute that shall |
| 68 | pursue Federal Aviation Administration sponsorship of a Center |
| 69 | of Excellence focused on high-impact space transportation |
| 70 | research, technology development, and policy analysis |
| 71 | activities. The institute shall be led by Embry-Riddle |
| 72 | Aeronautical University and shall include other public and |
| 73 | private postsecondary academic institutions within and outside |
| 74 | the state. The institute, through its partner institutions, |
| 75 | shall support research focus areas including, but not limited |
| 76 | to, spaceport licensing and safety; range and airspace |
| 77 | management systems development, simulation, and qualification; |
| 78 | spaceflight human factors issues; spaceflight passenger, crew, |
| 79 | and technician training and certification; launch vehicle safety |
| 80 | analysis; materials science for spaceflight; spaceport |
| 81 | instrumentation, technologies, and processes; and other topics |
| 82 | which may be of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration. |
| 83 | (2) The institute shall be established in phases, with the |
| 84 | initial phase focused on developing a management structure, |
| 85 | establishing a formal relationship with the Federal Aviation |
| 86 | Administration, and forming partnerships with academic |
| 87 | institutions and industry. The institute shall provide a |
| 88 | quarterly report to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 89 | Development on the institute's activities, relationship status |
| 90 | with the Federal Aviation Administration, research, and |
| 91 | partnerships. |
| 92 | Section 5. This act shall not require the appropriation of |
| 93 | funds or the assignment of personnel resources by the Office of |
| 94 | Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. |
| 95 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |