Millions of federal dollars were recently awarded to the Kodiak Island spaceport and its owner, Alaska Aerospace Corporation as it prepares for more launches with the federal government.
Earlier this month on Feb. 3, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced that up to $45.5 million from the recently approved Defense Department Appropriation Bill would pay for improvements at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska. That funding is not expected to be distributed to Alaska Aerospace Corporation until this summer according to John Oberst, CEO and president of the corporation.
Oberst said his corporation and the Virginia Spaceport Authority jointly advocated for this pot of federal funding. Virginia Spaceport Authority and PSCA are two of eight spaceports around the world working together as part of an international agreement that was signed in 2024.
“So we go in together to Congress and we ask for these various monies to be able to make sure the government has what they need when they come out to our launch pads," Obert said. "And that’s typically split 50% between Virginia Space and Alaska [Aerospace Corporation].”
About $22 million of those federal funds will be used to upgrade the existing payload processing facility on site at the spaceport near Narrow Cape. Oberst told the Kodiak Daily Mirror that the building provides a, “clean environment that’s needed to assemble satellite components and get them ready to use.”
He also told the Kodiak Daily Mirror that upgrading that facility will make the Kodiak Island spaceport a more attractive option for private and government contractors to conduct launches.
The federal bill also includes $4 million for equipment upgrades at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks, supporting missile defense and space testing capabilities. Alaska Aerospace and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, which owns and operates the research range, signed a partnership agreement last summer to bring more launches to their launch facilities.
The Defense Department Appropriation Bill also includes $6 million for Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) investments, including a modern threat simulator. JPARC is a 77,000 square mile restricted airspace in Alaska where the U.S. military conducts training and testing for land, air, sea, space and cyberspace. According to Alaska’s Newssource, the Air Force is planning to expand the range complex into other areas of the state which could include the Gulf of Alaska and Kodiak Island.
Separately, Alaska Aerospace Corporation was awarded a $28 million contract with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army last month on Jan. 9 to operate missile system facilities in Alaska. According to the government contract notice on SAM.gov, Alaska Aerospace Corporation will be conducting test range services for the federal government, primarily out at the Kodiak Island spaceport.
“And we’re really excited to have the Army out there, because it diversifies our portfolio. And we’re looking forward to doing business with the Army," he said.
Oberst could not share further details without authorization from the Army.
However, the corporation has already begun developing a 1,100 mile test range, referred to as the Pacific Test Range, starting from the Kodiak Island spaceport and going westward into the Aleutian Islands.
The Pacific Test Range will be a restricted airspace which includes various mobile instruments and equipment on the ground in places like Adak. Other communities being considered to be included in the range are Sand Point and Unalaska. The range allows Alaska Aerospace to conduct and monitor hypersonic missile tests, orbital launches, and other advanced aerospace systems tests while also capturing telemetry or data from them 24/7.
