Utah is one of three areas under consideration as an inland launch site for the next generation of space shuttles, according to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Aides to Hatch said Tuesday that NASA confirmed to them that the Utah Test and Training Range west of the Great Salt Lake is under consideration for that along with Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.Hatch said NASA's decision last week to proceed with developing Lockheed Martin's "VentureStar" - a reusable shuttle that would not discard external engines or rocket stages - means coastal launch sites are no longer needed.
"The coastal sites at Vandenberg (Air Force Base, Calif.) and (Florida's Cape) Canaveral were ideal for multiple-staged vehicles that dropped sections into the ocean. But inland sites are now being studied, and that may prove well for Utah," Hatch said.
Aides to Hatch said 15 launches of the "X-33," a half-size prototype of the new shuttle, are planned over the next several years - and that Utah is being considered for some of them.
Hatch wrote Norman Augustine, head of Lockheed Martin, on Monday urging him to "consider the vast desert regions of Utah among the several inland sites capable of accommodating the new shuttle. Of course, I would be pleased to assist in every way possible."
Hatch added in a press release, "The Test and Training Range in Utah is the largest government-owned training center in the world. Add to that the vast terrain and the technology base, and Utah provides a real advantage for a launch site."
Hatch also noted that one of the key Lockheed subcontractors - Alliant's Bacchus Works in Magna - is nearby and will manufacture cryogenic fuel tanks made from graphite composite materials.
Hatch said Lockheed Martin will initially receive about $1 billion to develop the new shuttle, but spending for the Reusable Launch Vehicle program is expected to greatly exceed that as a fleet of the new shuttles comes into use after the turn of the century.
"The inland sites could well be the future of the space shuttle, and it certainly could pave the way for another step forward in Utah's space industry," Hatch said.
The new vehicle would launch vertically and later land horizontally like an airplane.