Spaceports (Kodiak and Fairbanks)
Alaska Aerospace Corporation
This page details two key space launch facilities in Alaska: the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island, an FAA-licensed commercial orbital spaceport, and the Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) near Fairbanks, the world's most extensive land-based rocket research facility.
Technical specifications
- Psca location
- Kodiak Island, Alaska
- Psca launch history
- Launching suborbital and orbital rockets since 1998
- Psca license
- First FAA licensed commercial spaceport
- Psca commercial status
- Only commercial vertical orbital spaceport in operation not co-located on a Federal range
- Psca us ranking
- One of only four orbital vertical rocket launch sites in the United States
- Psca launch azimuth range
- Largest of any spaceport in the US
- Psca accessible orbits
- High-inclination, polar and sun-synchronous orbits between 59° and 110° inclination
- Psca land area
- 3700 acres
- Psca launch pads
- Six
- Psca facilities
- Launch Service Structure, Launch Control Center, Launch Weather Operations Center, Instrumentation Field, Maintenance Control Facility, Payload Processing Facility, Integration & Processing Facility, Spacecraft & Assemblies Transfer Building, Rocket Motor Storage Facility
- Pfrr location
- Interior Alaska (near Fairbanks)
- Pfrr size
- Most extensive land-based rocket research facility on the globe
- Pfrr latitude
- Sole high-latitude rocket range in the United States
- Pfrr unique feature
- Beneath the auroral oval
- Pfrr peak launch period
- January to March
- Pfrr ownership
- Only scientific rocket launching site worldwide owned by an academic institution (University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute)
- Pfrr management
- Managed by University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute through a contract with NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
About
The Pacific Spaceport Complex–Alaska (PSCA), located on Kodiak Island, is a crucial facility providing responsive, agile, and low-cost access to space for small and light-lift vertical launch rockets. Operational since 1998, it holds the distinction of being the first FAA-licensed commercial spaceport and the only commercial vertical orbital spaceport not co-located on a Federal range. As one of only four orbital vertical rocket launch sites in the United States, PSCA contributes significantly to US space access resiliency. It boasts the largest launch azimuth range in the US, capable of accessing high-inclination, polar, and sun-synchronous orbits between 59° and 110° inclination. The facility spans 3700 acres and includes six launch pads, a Launch Service Structure, and a comprehensive suite of launch support facilities such as a Launch Control Center, Launch Weather Operations Center, Instrumentation Field, Maintenance Control Facility, Payload Processing Facility, Integration & Processing Facility, Spacecraft & Assemblies Transfer Building, and Rocket Motor Storage Facility.
The Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR), situated in Interior Alaska, is recognized as the most extensive land-based rocket research facility globally and the sole high-latitude rocket range in the United States. It offers an ideal launch site for rockets soaring over vast, uninhabited tundra, with launches conducted under the auspices of federal, state, and tribal landowners. Its unique location beneath the auroral oval provides exceptional opportunities for scientists to study the aurora borealis, particularly during the peak launch period from January to March. PFRR is unique as the only scientific rocket launching site worldwide owned by an academic institution, managed by the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute under contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. It serves as a hub for numerous scientific instruments designed to investigate the arctic atmosphere and ionosphere.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.