Cecil Spaceport

Cecil Spaceport is a FAA-licensed commercial spaceport operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) at the former Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. The facility obtained its FAA spaceport license around 2010, making it one of the first designated commercial spaceports in the Southeast US. Cecil specializes in horizontal launch operations — vehicle types that take off on a runway rather than a vertical launch pad — supporting suborbital and air-launch concepts.

The site has partnered with Space Florida (Florida's aerospace economic development agency) and attracted interest from Boeing for potential testing activities. Beyond launch, Cecil hosts a growing aerospace and UAS (unmanned aerial systems) testing cluster on its 17,000-acre property, including runway infrastructure originally built to handle naval jet aircraft.

The spaceport's proximity to major transportation corridors (I-10, Jacksonville seaport) and large land footprint give it flexibility for future horizontal launch operators, including potential support for vehicle testing of hypersonic platforms and next-generation air-launch systems operating from the Gulf and Atlantic corridors.