Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority

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Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority
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Excelsior
Agency overview
Formed2009
JurisdictionState of Oklahoma
Parent departmentOklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics
Website spaceport.ok.gov

The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) is a development authority created by the state of Oklahoma to operate a spaceport near Burns Flat, Oklahoma. [1]

Contents

In July 2025, OSIDA was merged into the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA). [2]

History

The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) was established by the Oklahoma Legislature in 74 O.S. § 74-5203 in December 2009. [3]

The first executive director of the Authority was Bill Khourie. Craig Smith became the new executive director in 2020 upon Khourie's retirement after 18 years of service. [4]

On June 12, 2025, the OSIDA announced Dawn Aerospace had selected Clinton-Sherman as its Aurora spaceplane home base. [5] Operations of the rocket-powered, remotely piloted aircraft are expected as early as 2027. [5]

On July 1, 2025, the OSIDA merged with the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace (ODAA). [6] The merger was a result of a new law in Oklahoma, Senate Bill 912. The new law states that the director of the ODAA will serve as OSIDA's CEO in addition to ODAA serving as the board for OSIDA. [6] [2] While OSIDA would technically remain a separate entity from the Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, all employees of OSIDA were transferred to the Department. [7]

Facilities

The Authority's primary asset is the former Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark, a former military airport featuring a redundant 13,503-foot-long paved runway. The airpark has been renamed the Oklahoma Air & Space Port. Although the Oklahoma Spaceport received a Commercial Space Transportation license from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in June 2006, the Spaceport has not yet hosted any sub-orbital spaceflights or launches of spacecraft into earth orbit. [1] However, the facility is still listed as an FAA currently-licensed launch site as of June 2020. [8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "OSIDA - Gateway to Space". Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  2. 1 2 "Oklahoma Space Industry Agency merges into Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics". Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (060). Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  3. ↑ "Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority". Transparent Oklahoma Performance. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  4. ↑ "OSIDA Welcomes New Executive Director". OSIDA. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Oklahoma space port announced as launch site for suborbital flights". Tulsa World, June 14, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Oklahoma Space Industry merges with Aerospace Department, launching to new heights". Oklahoma Business Voice. 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  7. ↑ "An Act relating to the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Act" (PDF). www.oklegislature.gov.
  8. ↑ "Fact Sheet-Commercial Space Transportation Activities". Eva Ngai, Federal Aviation Administration, June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.


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