The authority shall have the following duties:
(1) Encourage the education and training of aerospace professionals to pioneer the frontier of space and to develop new methods and technologies for the exploration of space.
(2) Promote new space exploration, space tourism, and spaceport technologies across a wide spectrum of corporate, academic, public, and private innovation infrastructures.
(3) Sponsor aerospace conferences and business roundtables to enable networking among key aerospace leaders and public officials.
(4) Encourage the leveraging of venture capital and seed public-private partnerships to promote entrepreneurship and expand space enterprise.
(5) Propose business initiatives, tax credits, small business incubator programs, and other initiatives to stimulate economic development and innovation within the aerospace and space systems communities.
(6) Perform a study on the feasibility of securing approval for the State of Alabama to have a federally licensed spaceport.
(7) Encourage space research and education centers to support these programs and facilitate technology transfer.
(8) Work with the Department of Tourism, the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission, and other public agencies to communicate the multiple scientific, educational, and commercial benefits of space exploration and the legacy of Alabama's contributions to America's space program to the public and to promote space tourism and training.
Last modified: May 3, 2021