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Florida’s Space Workers and the New Approach to Human Spaceflight 

April 15, 2010 

The Administration is committed to a bold, new approach to human spaceflight, and is increasing the NASA budget 

by $6 billion over the next five years in order to embark on this ambitious strategy that will foster the development 

of path-breaking technologies, increase the reach and reduce the cost of human spaceflight, and help create 

thousands of new jobs. Along with the already planned end of the Shuttle program, this transformation will have an 

impact on the critical space industry in Florida. 

Building on its significant new investments to help Florida retain its important role in NASA’s human space 

programs, the Administration today is taking additional steps to help Florida’s Space Coast adjust and succeed in 

the years ahead. Most importantly, the Administration is launching a $40 million, multi-agency initiative to help the 

Space Coast transform its economy and prepare its workers for the opportunities of tomorrow. This effort will build 

on and complement ongoing economic and workforce development efforts by convening a task force comprised of 

senior-level Administration officials to construct an economic development action plan for the President’s review 

within 120 days. In addition to this assistance, the Administration will work to jumpstart the commercial space 

industry at Kennedy Space Center; dedicate more than $2 billion in funds to modernize Kennedy Space Center’s 

facilities; and restructure the Orion crew exploration vehicle program to a more efficient design for a crew 

emergency escape capsule. 

Compared to the prior path we were on, the President’s new plan for human spaceflight is expected to generate 

more than 2,500 additional jobs in the Kennedy Space Center area by 2012. 

PREPARING FLORIDA’S SPACE WORKERS FOR THE JOBS OF TOMORROW 

The men and women who work in the Space Coast’s aerospace industry are some of the most talented and highly 

trained in the nation. It’s critical that their skills are tapped as we transform and grow the country’s space 

exploration efforts. The 2004 decision to end the Shuttle means that approximately 6,000 jobs need to be 

transitioned into the new space strategy and related industries. To ease the transition for workers dislocated while 

the new space strategy is being implemented, the President is proposing to dedicate $40 million of the funds 

requested for the Constellation transition to transform the regional economy and prepare its workforce for these 

new opportunities. 

The President will select a high-level team of senior officials from the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and 

Labor; NASA; and the White House to develop a plan for regional economic growth and retraining dislocated 

workers to seize new work opportunities. The team will report its recommendations to the President by August 15. 

This interagency group’s recommendations will build on the Administration’s on-going efforts in the region. The 

Department of Labor is already planning a pilot program to better assist the region’s workers, including those 

highly-skilled workers who work in the aerospace industry, through efforts to establish one-stop local transition 

centers for affected workers where they can receive coordinated local, state, and federal workforce assistance tied 

to economic development efforts; and the designation of a one-stop-shop federal point-of-contact for affected areas. 

To further facilitate these efforts, the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is 

prepared to support a comprehensive economic adjustment strategy for the Kennedy Space Center economic region. 

With funding provided through NASA, the EDA will provide both financial and technical assistance to start 

implementing those plans and promote economic development in the region through such activities as infrastructure 

upgrades and improvements, entrepreneurial networks, and skill-training facilities and equipment. The exact mix of 

activities will depend on the recommendations and request of local entities across the region.
Working with local and state partners, the EDA also will analyze whether other proven assistance efforts can be 

implemented in the area, including: additional economic development resources such as enhanced capital funding 

to support efforts to start new technology ventures based on the specific skills of dislocated engineers; technical 

assistance to guide public officials, management, and labor through a local economic adjustment effort; and Federal 

Team Visits to further support local adjustment efforts. 

INVESTING IN KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AND THE SPACE COAST 

In order to expand our potential in space, the President is committed to increasing the NASA budget in FY 2011 

and each of the next five years. This will mean more people working in the aerospace industry to support NASA 

programs and missions. In order to harness Florida’s unique and talented workforce, the Kennedy Space Center has 

been selected to manage several of the new programs in the President’s FY 2011 budget request. All told, the 

President’s new plan is expected to generate more than 2,500 additional jobs in the Kennedy Space Center area by 

2012, as compared to the prior path. 

Highlights include: 

• Jumpstarting a new industry and thousands of new jobs. A new Commercial Crew Development Program 

Office at the Kennedy Space Center will manage $500 million in FY 2011 and $5.8 billion over five years 

to foster private-sector transportation services to Earth orbit. Florida would also be a beneficiary of the new 

Commercial Crew and cargo investments, which an independent analysis projects will create more than 

10,000 jobs nationwide over the next five years.*

• Modernizing Kennedy Space Center so it remains a world-class launch port for decades to come. A new 

21st Century Launch Complex Program Office at the Kennedy Space Center will manage $429 million in 

FY 2011 and $1.9 billion over five years to modernize the Kennedy Space Center’s facilities to reduce 

launch costs not only for NASA, but for other users. These investments will create hundreds of jobs by 

2012, upgrade Kennedy Space Center’s facilities for the 21st century, and ensure that the Kennedy Space 

Center will remain a world-class launch port for decades to come, attracting new commercial business in 

addition to reliably and efficiently supporting government flights. 

• Helping make the I-4 corridor the Silicon Valley of space. A new Flagship Technology Demonstrations 

Deputy Program Office will help manage, along with the Johnson Space Center’s Program Office, $424 

million in FY 2011 and $6 billion over five years to demonstrate transformational technologies for nextgeneration space flight capabilities.

*Error in 4/13/2010 version corrected 4/15/2010