Florida wants NASA land to develop commercial spaceport

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, Sept 24: With an eye toward developing a commercial spaceport, Florida has asked NASA to transfer 150 acres of land north of the shuttle launch pads and the shuttle runway to Space Florida, the state’s aerospace development agency. “Florida believes that the properties identified in this request are excess to the needs of the US government,” Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, who is also chairwoman of Space Florida, wrote in letter to NASA chief Charles Bolden and Ray LaHood, secretary of Department of Transportation, which oversees commercial space transportation in the United States. (agencies)