Crisafulli: Future of space bright in Brevard

For more than 50 years, Brevard County has been known to the world as Florida's Space Coast. We met President Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon and establish America's leadership in space.

When I was 9, I remember standing outside, watching the sky in awe as the space shuttle Columbia launched into space, kicking off a new, exciting era of space development.

That all ended when the shuttle program was retired and the Constellation program was canceled, devastating our community. Thousands of jobs were lost. Homes were foreclosed. Loved ones moved away in search of work.

Since being elected to the Florida House, I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues in the Legislature to restore Florida's prominence in space. While we have made significant progress in recent years to strengthen the space industry, Florida must continue to focus on this critical industry to ensure our state remains the launching pad to the stars.

The Legislature is not alone in this endeavor — incredible partners such as Gov. Rick Scott, Space Florida, Enterprise Florida, the Brevard County Commission and the Economic Development Commission of the Space Coast — are committed to maintaining state's leadership in space.

The two keys to this effort have been diversifying and expanding the commercial aerospace industry and strengthening Space Florida, our state's space agency.

The Legislature has worked hard to make Florida the state with the nation's best business climate. By cutting taxes and red tape and using smart tax incentives to attract companies to or expand their operations in Florida, our pro-jobs policies have made the state a national leader in commercial aerospace. This year, PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked Florida first in the nation in aerospace manufacturing attractiveness, and the U.S. Department of Labor ranked the state second in aviation, aerospace and space establishments. Florida is home to more than 2,000 aerospace and aviation companies with more than 80,000 jobs.

Companies like Boeing, Embraer, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman —and now Blue Origin — are making significant capital investments in Florida.

In Brevard, September brought three significant jobs announcements, from Boeing opening its commercial crew cargo processing facility as part of NASA's efforts to restore America's ability to send crews to the International Space Station, to Embraer announcing the construction of its Aero Seating Technologies facility, to Blue Origin announcing it will launch and build rockets on the Space Coast.

Blue Origin's arrival is due to tremendous efforts by local, state and federal partners. Indeed, the Legislature appropriated $10 million in launch infrastructure upgrades to help attract companies like Blue Origin to Florida.

Space Florida has been critical in strengthening commercial aerospace, as well. To bolster its efforts, we have significantly increased its budget, given the agency more flexibility to utilize its funding, and made investments in space infrastructure, such as the former Shuttle Landing Facility. Space Florida will use the Shuttle Landing Facility to make Cape Canaveral Spaceport the world's premiere spaceport. Already the world's busiest spaceport, Cape Canaveral will have one launch every 14 days next year.

Without question, the Kennedy Space Center will remain an important part of our space future. Its new Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion spacecraft will take humans on missions to asteroids, Mars and beyond. Much of the work on these craft will be done in Florida.

While our space industry has strengthened significantly since the shuttle's retirement, Florida faces real and sustained competition for commercial space activity here at home and abroad. We must continue to support the growth of commercial space in Brevard and Florida as a whole if we are to maintain our leadership in space. By making strategic investments in space infrastructure, developing our supply chain, supporting education policies that create a stronger workforce, utilizing our universities for research and development, and fostering pro-business and low-tax policies, we will keep Florida the most attractive place in the world for commercial aerospace companies. The Florida Legislature stands ready to continue to do its part.

Today, the future of space is even brighter than it was on the Columbia's maiden voyage. By working to maintain our leadership in space, I believe the Space Coast will have a thriving future and our children will grow up in a Florida where not even the sky is the limit.

Steve Crisafulli is a Merritt Island Republican and serves as speaker of the Florida House. He represents House District 51, which encompasses central Brevard County.