Kodiak spaceport looks for a site to make liquid oxygen for rockets from the air

Alaska Aerospace wants to build a plant at its Kodiak Island spaceport that would pull oxygen and nitrogen out of the air and turn them into supercold liquids for rocket launches. On Friday, the state-owned corporation started looking for an engineering firm to find the best place to put it.

Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska sits on about 3,700 acres of state land at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island. Alaska Aerospace, a state-owned corporation established in 1991, has run launches there since 1998.

The spaceport is gearing up for more military launches. Rocket Lab is building a launch complex there for missile-defense and hypersonic tests, Alaska News reported July 31. The company has a $266 million Defense Department contract for at least 12 test launches, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski has said most are expected to fly from Kodiak.

The new plant, called an air separation unit, would make and temporarily store liquid oxygen and nitrogen on site to support launch operations at the spaceport. The FAA approved a fueling facility of about 200 by 350 feet in a 2016 environmental review, in a part of the spaceport called Area 3. That area has since seen significant development, Alaska Aerospace says.

The study would compare possible sites on the lay of the land and soil, permits, required safety clear zones and utility hookups. It would also weigh whether piping the supercold liquids to where they're needed works better than hauling them. The firm would recommend a first and second choice, with the costs and risks of each.

Separately, the corporation is adding a liquid oxygen storage tank on an existing concrete pad next to the area where it stores rocket motors.

Alaska Aerospace says it is on a tight timeline with the FAA. It expects to choose a firm by Nov. 30, and the study is set to take about six months.