spacetoday.net: Spaceport hearings draw mixed reactions

Posted: Fri, Feb 14, 2014, 7:47 AM ET (1247 GMT)
Two public hearings this week on plans for an environmental impact study of a proposed commercial spaceport in Florida drew mixed, and in one case sharply negative, reactions. The public hearings, held Tuesday night in New Smyrna Beach and Wednesday night in Titusville, were designed to allow for public input into the planning process of an environmental impact study for the proposed Shiloh Launch Complex on the Atlantic coast north of the Kennedy Space Center. The facility would include two launch pads and supporting facilities to accommodate up to two dozen launches per year by commercial launch providers such as SpaceX. While backers of the facility emphasized the economic benefit the launch site would provide, opponents were concerned about the impact the pads would have on wildlife, and closures of the region to hunters and fishers during launch activities. Supporters and opponents of the Shiloh launch site were evenly split at the first public hearing, but opponents dominated the public discussion at the second. The environmental study itself will take more than one year to complete.