Jan. 8 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants NASA to relocate its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Brevard County.
“There is an interest in moving the headquarters of NASA right here to Kennedy Space Center,” DeSantis told media on Wednesday. “I’m supportive of that.”
DeSantis said the current NASA headquarters in the nation’s capital is located in a large building that he says people seldom visit and a new building is being planned at a cost of about $500 million.
“Hopefully, with the new administration coming in, they’ll see a great opportunity to just headquarter NASA here on the Space Coast of Florida,” DeSantis said. “That’d be very, very fitting.”
DeSantis made his comments during an event on Merritt Island that heralded the formation of the Florida University Space Research Consortium.
The consortium combines the talents and resources of the Kennedy Space Center, University of Florida, Central Florida University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The consortium’s aim is to create advantages for NASA and the universities while advancing the nation’s and world’s space capabilities. Other universities have an open invitation to join the consortium.
DeSantis said the first American satellite in space, astronaut John Glenn‘s first Earth orbit and the Apollo 11 mission that put the world’s first man on the moon all launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.
“This is really special ground when it comes to space,” DeSantis told media. “If you look at what we’ve done in the state of Florida, our ecosystem for space has never been better.”
NASA administrator Bill Nelson addressed the event via a video statement and welcomed the new consortium’s formation.
“This consortium will be an open door to even more possibilities for the researchers, the faculty and the students that have an extraordinary position here in Florida,” Nelson said.
The consortium creates “opportunities for research and funding, internships and fellowships … for teaching and learning,” Nelson added.
Nelson did not address DeSantis’ suggestion to move NASA headquarters to Florida.