00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 64 01 Relating to the projects of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation for 02 satellite ground stations and a rocket launch facility. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation is a public corporation 05 established by AS 14.40.821; and 06 WHEREAS the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation has identified two areas 07 of aerospace development that have special significance to the state, which are the location 08 of satellite ground stations in the Fairbanks area and the construction of a commercial rocket 09 launch facility on Kodiak Island; and 10 WHEREAS the strategic northern location of the Fairbanks area, the state's state-of-the-art telecommunications 11 systems, the renowned engineering and science faculty and 12 facilities of the University of Alaska, and the availability of skilled employees and contractors 13 have led a number of aerospace companies to express great interest in locating ground stations 14 in the Fairbanks area for the purpose of controlling, communicating with, and processing 01 information from polar-orbiting satellites; and 02 WHEREAS the growing commercial demand for low-earth orbit satellites is expected 03 to increase the need for a commercial rocket launch facility in the United States; and 04 WHEREAS the sites proposed by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation on 05 Kodiak Island for a rocket launch facility have attracted governmental and aerospace industry 06 interest because of the safety and environmental features of those sites; and 07 WHEREAS the plans of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation for a rocket 08 launch facility promise a low cost, unbureaucratic rocket launch facility free from the 09 restrictions imposed on facilities owned by the federal government; and 10 WHEREAS the location of ground stations in the Fairbanks area and the construction 11 of the rocket launch facility on Kodiak Island will provide the state with new sources of 12 skilled, long-term employment, provide additional technology infrastructure to the state, and 13 lead to a continued growth in the state's technology industry; and 14 WHEREAS both of these projects will provide unparalleled educational opportunities 15 for Alaska students because the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation intends to work 16 with the state's schools during these projects, and this cooperation will expose state students 17 to some notable persons, including some of the best aerospace scientists in the country and 18 Eugene Cernan, who was the last man to walk on the moon and who is on the corporation's 19 board of directors; and 20 WHEREAS these projects of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation would 21 be enhanced if the aerospace industry and the United States government cooperated with and 22 provided technological and other assistance to the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation 23 during these projects; 24 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature hereby expresses its support for 25 the projects of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation to locate satellite ground 26 stations in the Fairbanks area and to construct a rocket launch facility on Kodiak Island; and 27 be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the aerospace 29 industry and the United States government to cooperate and provide technological and other 30 assistance to the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation for these projects. 31 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President 01 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President 02 Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House 03 of Representatives; to the Honorable Sheila E. Widnall, Secretary of the U.S. Air Force; and 04 to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the 05 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.