LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — It seems the Natural State may be headed for the final frontier—Act 477 by the state legislature orders the state Economic Development Commission to conduct a study on the feasibility of constructing a spaceport right here in Arkansas.
It all began with a 2022 report by the Arkansas Future Mobility Council, a group of officials, academics, and businessmen, including leaders at Walmart, Entergy, Tyson, and the Arkansas Departments of Transportation and Commerce.
The Council recommended that the governor establish an Arkansas space authority to manage a potential spaceport, which they argued would be an economic boon to the state. That view is shared by the sponsors of Act 477.
“Upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars of economic development if you get one going, if it’s feasible, if it makes sense for the community, and you’ve got the workforce and the industry—which, luckily, we do have the workforce and the industry, but it’s making sure we have the environment for it,” said State Representative Aaron Pilkington (R) of District 45.
“The spaceport is just one small portion of this. Maybe that’s 2 percent of the investment,” said State Senator Justin Boyd (R) of District 27, “now, 98 percent is what happens when the University of Arkansas starts producing more engineers—you have higher dollar jobs that are being created here in Arkansas hopefully to stay in Arkansas. So, this creates a real opportunity.”
The Arkansas Future Mobility Council report cited examples provided by the few states with existing spaceports, notably New Mexico’s spaceport (Spaceport America), which between 2013 and 2022 created $118 million in direct economic impact between and well and hundreds of jobs.
The report asserted that public policy is the ‘rocket fuel’ needed to initiate a potential international space hub in Arkansas.
With Act 477 soon to be in effect, the first steps towards that possibility are being made.
“There’s a large swathe of middle America that’s currently not being served by a spaceport that’s being built or has been built. So, it’s a big gap in the middle of our country and I think Arkansas could fill that gap,” Pilkington said.
“I think there’s a little bit of a race. ‘I wanna be built in Arkansas, I don’t want to be built in Missouri or Illinois or anywhere else.’ Aerospace is one of the biggest industries we have here in Arkansas. and so, to me it seemed like a natural thing…the way I thought about it too was, spaceports are the airports of the 1920s or 1930s. Really, it’s one of those deals where if we get in on the ground floor, it essentially will become part of our national infrastructure. You know: you have airports, water ports—spaceports are kind of the next evolution of that,” he said.
The possibility of a spaceport in Arkansas may seem far-fetched, but a global space race is ramping up, with state and private entities reaching for the stars. According to reports, launch costs have plummeted and the final frontier is more accessible than ever before.
If funding is available, the deadline for the feasibility study is January 1, 2024.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that the spacefaring economy will reach at least $1.5 trillion by 2040.
The industry currently supports more than 140,000 jobs in the country.
There are only ten states in the country with Federal Aviation Administration-certified spaceports.
