Paso Robles airport renovations create potential testing site for moon projects 

As the Paso Robles Spaceport Project begins a long ascent to its final form, it's helping serve as testing grounds for projects that could get mankind closer to the moon.

"Major space initiatives such as NASA's Artemis project involve a wide range of specialized firsts to create new tech required for space exploration," said Paso Robles Economic Development Manager Paul Sloan. "We were recently host to a group of technology companies conducting tests, allowing our city and airport to be part of the first step in the next era of human exploration in space."

click to enlarge

• Courtesy Photo By Mark Scandalis
• RECYCLED RENOVATION Paso Robles Mayor Pro Tem John Hamon was able to get an up-close look at the recycled material-based track that serves as a testing site on the city airport property.

At the May 16 City Council meeting, Sloan highlighted recent airport renovations that resulted in newfound partnerships with aerospace groups—including NASA-adjacent groups and the SLO-based Stellar Explorations Inc.

"We are very excited," Stellar Explorations President Tomas Svitek told New Times.

According to Svitek, Stellar Explorations has worked alongside NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and commercial contractors, focusing mainly on small spacecraft propulsion technology including contributing to NASA's Capstone project that is currently orbiting the moon.

"I am grateful to the city of Paso that we get to test our hardware here before it launches," Svitek said. "It is cool to be part of this movement into the future so close to where we are based."

Sloan told New Times that the site where the renovations had been made epitomized the project's intent to use already existing parts of the airport as major points of development for the project.

"The new testing site was created using recycled road materials collected from various street repair projects around the city," he said. "The material was then used to rebuild the original access to the [test] site that dates from World War II when the airport was originally built for the U.S. military."

He told New Times that working on the project with Cal Poly has drastically lowered the expected cost of applying for the spaceport designation.

"Working in partnership with Cal Poly has resulted in the cost of this project being less than one-tenth of proposals from other entities," he said. "The funds allocated by City Council for developing the license application have proven sufficient to date."

Thanks to those budgetary constraints being less of an issue, the spaceport development team has been able to focus on renovations that they hope bring more permanent aerospace and tech commerce to the city.

"The airport renovated an area of the property that had not been actively used for decades and can now be used as a testing site by engineering firms developing small-scale space technology," he said. "[These] companies have expressed interest in permanently basing business operations in Paso Robles."

Sloan and the rest of the Spaceport project development team—which consists of Airport Manager Mark Scandalis and a group of students and professors from Cal Poly—are now working on applying for spaceport designation from the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The current plan is to submit the spaceport license application in the fall," Sloan said. "Following submission, the next steps in the process with the FAA are estimated to take one to two years." Δ