WASHINGTON – Companies that use U.S. launch ranges will have a greater say in the management and future operations of those sites, a White House report said Tuesday.

The states of Florida and California will also play greater roles in shaping how the rocket bases are planned, maintained and operated.

But the nine-month White House review failed to choose a specific management structure for the future of the bases, saying the existing commercial space industry was too unstable to select a single operator today.

The effect of the report was to dilute the federal government’s role in managing Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Base, California, and begin a long-term shift toward commercial operations.

The states and industry would also help determine the pace and direction of future upgrades and modernization of the bases, with an eye towards their needs, as well as that of the government.

"The future of commercial [space] markets are too uncertain to select one final path for the future of the launch sites," said Neal Lane, assistant to the president for science and technology.

Lane said the report will urge the Clinton administration to seek "alternative management structures" for the Cape and Vandenberg. But Lane and his assistant, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Villhard declined to say what form such an arrangement might take.

Lane defended the refusal to choose a new operator, saying that the administration was ready to shift course if the commercial market changed.

"If commercial space markets change during this [changeover] period, we will seriously reconsider this transition," he said.

Villhard was in charge of the review, which was directed by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council.

The report now goes to President Clinton for final review and for the crafting of a series of steps putting the recommendations into policy. Villhard said changes in federal law would be sought to give U.S. commercial launch companies access to property and space launch services at the bases that might be considered in excess of U.S. needs.

"The future of commercial [space] markets are too uncertain to select one final path for the future of the launch sites."
     

By law, industry is forbidden from using launch facilities and services unless they are directly needed for government payloads. Such changes might make more of the rocket bases available for commercial operations and industry needs un-related to government space missions.

Villhard also said the report would urge Clinton to direct the Air Force and NASA to create a joint program to develop next-generation space technologies for preparing rockets for flight and tracking the vehicles once they are launched.

"These technologies could include space-based systems" for following the rocket’s flight, Villhard said.

And the report would also seek a common set of safety standards for use at launch ranges, as well as in the development of future commercial launch sites.

U.S. business leaders called the report a step toward greater flexibility in scheduling rocket flights and said it would enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. space launch industry.

"More compatibility at the range would certainly enhance our business," said Rich Murphy, director of Delta launch operations at Cape Canaveral. "What you need is a responsive range...The problem isn’t maximum capacity. The problem is they [launches] all tend to congregate on top of each other."

Murphy said he hoped the range report would lead to modernization that would allow rocket launches to be quickly scheduled from one type of booster to another.

"Clearly we have to focus more on these ranges," said Eric Stallmer, head of the Space Transportation Association, an industry group that promotes spaceflight.

The failure of the report to take a more aggressive stand was "somewhat disappointing" Stallmer said. "But I’m optimistic at the dialogue."

Others were glad that the issue of the future of the rocket bases was being addressed at all, given the sometimes-competitive nature of the users and many government agencies involved in regulating and promoting spaceflight.

"It’s a step in the right direction. It looks like they herded the cats together a bit," said Thomas Moser, executive director of the Texas Aerospace Corporation.

Moser’s group is among more than a dozen states trying to develop all-private, commercial rocket launching sites.

SPACE.com Senior Producer Jim Banke at Cape Canaveral contributed to this report.