- January 9, 2025
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Leaders of the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University formally signed an agreement Wednesday, Jan. 8, to be the state’s space research entity. The partnership is aimed at keeping Florida a leader in space policy and research.
“There are a lot of universities around the country that just battle one another, not just on athletic fields, but battle one another to be better than one another,” Embry-Riddle President Barry Butler said during a signing ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center. “But … at the end of the day, those folks here at NASA come from a lot of different institutions.”
The Space Florida Board of Directors announced what is known as the Florida University Space Research Consortium during a November meeting. Space Florida is the state’s aerospace agency.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, who chairs the Space Florida board, took part in Wednesday’s signing ceremony. “I can assure you that with this consortium, with the governor's leadership and direction of university partners, we are not only going to be the launch capital of the world, but we're going to be the aerospace capital of the world,” Nunez said.
