Exploring the Past, Inspiring Tomorrow’s Spaceports
Spaceport Heritage Series
Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska USA
Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska stands as a defining example of how bold decisions can reshape an industry. Established in the 1990s as the Kodiak Launch Complex, it became the first FAA-licensed U.S. launch site independent of federal ranges, opening new pathways for commercial flexibility and innovation.
Positioned at the nation’s northernmost orbital launch site, PSCA provides unmatched access to a wide range of orbital inclinations, supporting missions from small satellite deployment to advanced defense testing. Its state-owned, self-sustaining model has driven continuous evolution, enabling cost efficiencies, new capabilities, and diversified revenue streams.
From a greenfield concept to a thriving economic engine, PSCA’s legacy reflects independence, adaptability, and forward-thinking leadership. Its story continues to guide the next generation of spaceports as they build for a more dynamic and commercially driven future.
Goddard Launch Site, Massachusetts - USA
In 1926, rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket from Asa Wood Farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. Over the next three years, he conducted eight experimental launches using gasoline and liquid oxygen, demonstrating the propulsion systems that would shape modern spaceflight.
Public concerns about noise, fires, and falling debris eventually halted operations at the farm, ending what might have become the world’s first dedicated launch site. Goddard later moved his work to New Mexico with support from the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics.
Today the historic launch site rests quietly within the Pakachoag Golf Course, recognized as a National Historic Landmark and remembered as an early chapter in the story of spaceports.
ABOUT MERRICK & COMPANY
Merrick & Company is an employee-owned international provider of engineering, architecture, planning, and infrastructure solutions for the aerospace industry, including spaceports and other space-related high performance facilities on Earth and beyond. Merrick is a platinum sponsor of the Global Spaceport Alliance.