On June 30, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the City of Houston had been approved as home to the United States' 10th licensed commercial spaceport. The Spaceport would be located at Ellington Airport, just south of the downtown area, and would offer the nation's fourth-largest city a focal point for aerospace innovation - a regional center for a cluster of aerospace activities, including but not limited to:
With the Houston application already approved by the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the Houston Airport System (HAS) now turns its attention toward securing partnership opportunities with leading companies operating within the aerospace industry.
As part of Houston Airport System, the spaceport will be run by a high-performance airport management, operations and maintenance team that has been recognized by the FAA for airfield operations and safety.
Johnson Space Center and other NASA facilities, coupled with a large subcontractor community of over 80 aerospace companies, provide significant access to an existing, robust aerospace community. As part of this flourishing industry, Houston Spaceport will act as an accelerator for innovation and an incubator for growth.
Imagine a sub-orbital commercial flight from Houston to Tokyo in less than 3 hours. As we dip our toe into the new waters of near-space travel, we open up doors to opportunities we could only imagine just a few decades ago. Just as the Wright Brothers "shortened the distance" between points on the map when they invented heavier-than-air travel in 1903, commercial spaceflight promises once more to connect the world in ways only recently unimaginable.
Connecting the people, the businesses, the economies and the people of the world to Houston is one of the Spaceport's major goals as we leverage Houston's potential as a major center of aerospace development and operations.
As a part of the Houston Airport System, Houston Spaceport will seamlessly fit into one of the largest international travel infrastructures on the planet.
Mario C. Diaz is Director of the City of Houston Department of Aviation. He is responsible for the overall management of the Houston Airport System’s three aviation facilities: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ellington Airport (EFD) – and its more than 1,400 employees.
Arturo Machuca is the General Manager of the Houston Airport System's Ellington Airport. Machuca oversees the daily operations and the development and implementation of policies and procedures at Ellington Airport. He is also the lead on the Houston Spaceport project.
Ian Wadsworth serves as the Chief Commercial Officer for the Houston Airport System. He oversees the commercial activities at the Houston Airport System’s three airports, including air service development, airline affairs, concessions, parking, real estate and business development. He joined the Houston Airport System in November 2008 as Deputy Director, Finance and Administration. In that position, Mr. Wadsworth was responsible for the finance, properties, human resources, and procurement functions. Prior to joining the Houston Airport System, Wadsworth served in various finance, planning, and marketing roles over the past 15 years at American Airlines, Capital One Financial, and Global Aero Logistics, the parent company of ATA Airlines, World Airways, and North American Airlines. Wadsworth received a BA degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and an MBA degree in Finance from the University of Michigan Business School.