Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced West Virginia will make one giant leap to try to land the new federal Space Academy, which will train people for the U.S. Space Force, NASA, and the commercial space flight sector.
The Pentagon has also invited states to compete for a separate, massive new domestic military installation for up to 25,000 troops focused on command control, and cyber/homeland defense operations.
“Having West Virginia be the centerpiece of this new effort would be truly incredible. Now, this is this is a major opportunity, but there are a lot of states fighting for it, and I recognize that,” Morrisey, a Republican, said at an announcement in Marion County.
Several states have already jumped in to compete for the major U.S. Space Force and space defense installations.
States actively competing to host the planned federal Space Academy include Alabama, which already has significant operations in Huntsville, Florida’s Space Coast, Texas, where Houston is synonymous with command central, Ohio and the birthplace of flight in Dayton, Nevada and Louisiana.
“There are a lot of states that have been very deeply involved in the space industry for a long time. I need not tell you the names of all those states, but we have a lot going for us, and I think that we can enter this competition with a lot of momentum,” Morrisey said.
States are evaluated and selected to host through a competitive federal bidding process initiated by a Request for Information.
Each state is limited to submitting one potential site proposal, coordinated through the governor’s office or a designated state representative.
The site must have close geographical proximity to an existing NASA facility, aerospace hub or a major institution of higher education or research university.
State designees have until 6 p.m. Oct. 26 to submit their proposals. The Presidential Commission will deliver its final recommendations and location assessments to the president by late December.
“And then some may say our odds are long or our odds are tough,” Morrisey said, “but you can’t win in fights that you’re not involved in.”
West Virginia just engaged in similar high stakes consideration last month. Officials first pursued and then dropped a bid for a federal initiative called Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses.
The integrated hubs are designed to support the entire nuclear cycle, including fuel enrichment, advanced reactor deployment and used material reprocessing. Because the campuses envision handling nuclear energy from beginning to end, spent fuel is a central aspect.
Morrisey, in an initial announcement in early September that West Virginia had joined five other finalists for the nuclear program, expressed excitement and said the state had a seat a the table.
By the end of the month, after publicly vowing that “West Virginia will not be a dumping ground for nuclear waste,” the Morrisey administration sent a one page letter to the U.S. Department of Energy to opt out of further consideration.
Along the way, the administration distanced itself from its own 48-page first pitch that proposed starting with spent fuel recycling and interim storage before expanding into advanced reactor deployment and manufacturing — with the governor’s spokesman calling it a “bureaucrat letter.”
In the case of the Space Academy, the first step mirrors that: states have to respond in writing to a federal request for information.
West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner, whose office holds the West Virginia Office of Entrepreneurship, said the officials should take care to give this opportunity a shot.
“The proposed Space Force Academy and a new military installation represent two of the most significant economic development opportunities West Virginia has seen in years. Both projects would require effective communication, coordination, and timely formal responses from the Governor’s Office,” said Warner, a Republican.
“I hope the Governor recognizes the magnitude of these opportunities and is prepared to move quickly and aggressively to position West Virginia for success. States across the country will be competing for these investments, and we cannot afford to be caught flat-footed.”