Yesterday, Oct. 20, Kodiak residents may have noticed a large crane lifting what appeared to be a section of a rocket into the launch tower at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska on Kodiak Island near Narrow Cape. Officials didn’t say much, but shared that this is part of a practice and not a launch.
“Right now, for this calendar year, you may see some activity which looks like a launch but is not. It’s one of those exercises to make sure that all the pieces are in place for a launch that will happen in the future," John Oberst, the chief executive officer of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation which oversees the spaceport, said.
Oberst could not disclose what company or entity was leading the launch prep exercise.
But in general, Oberst said that when the facility is working with a government entity for a launch, there’s typically less transparency than with a commercial company.
Kodiak resident Stacy Studebaker emailed KMXT photos and her observations around 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, Oct. 20 after she witnessed these activities on site at the spaceport.
Separately, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said contractors are still on site cleaning up an aviation fuel spill from July. Roughly 1,800 gallons had spilled after a failed rocket test resulted in the rocket being damaged beyond repair. ADEC staff told KMXT as of Oct. 21, cleanup is still ongoing, contractors are still coming and going from the site, and remediation work is taking place.
Oberst said he does not expect the next rocket launch to take place on site until 2025.
