04 November 2009

Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Becomes “Alaska Aerospace Corporation”


We love how AADC (oops, we mean AAC) continually comes up with arguments claiming that some insignificant action they propose or perform will help obtain launches: "The name change assists in securing launch and other aerospace related contracts".
The truth of the matter is that no private businesses want to do commercial launches at the KLC (it's cost prohibitive) and even the military launches are dwindling - tens of millions of dollars thrown away on infrastructure that sits on major earthquake faults and slowly rusts away in our corrosive marine environment; it's all pork barrel waste.

Anway here's the info from their website:

On October 20, 2009, Alaska Senate Bill 125, sponsored by Senator Joe Paskvan and signed by the Governor into law, changed the corporation’s name to that of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation to recognize the corporation’s growth and successful operation. There are no changes to ownership or corporate governance.

Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (AADC) was established by the Alaska State Legislature in 1991 and charged with stimulating a high technology aerospace industry in the state. AADC was designed to augment the nation’s ability to place satellites into orbit and to support missile defense testing. The Corporation, in partial fulfillment of its charter, built and operates the Kodiak Launch Facility, the nation’s first full service commercial spaceport that was not co-located on a federal reservation. [Editor's Note: no commercial launches have ever taken place at the KLC]

Senate Bill 125 simply changes the name of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation to the Alaska Aerospace Corporation.

The word “Development” in the corporation’s title gave the perception that they were a not-for-profit administrative body that simply encourages aerospace development, rather than an organization that owns and operates space launch facilities that are fully developed and capable of launching rockets into space. The name change assists in securing launch and other aerospace related contracts that generate significant economic benefits to Alaska by providing long-term, high-paying, stable jobs; by providing local economic diversity; and by creating short-term benefits from projects and construction activities.

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