FAA again delays final decision on Georgia spaceport permit

KINGSLAND, Ga. (AP) - A federal agency is once again delaying a final decision on whether to permit construction of a launchpad for commercial rockets on the Georgia coast.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it now plans to issue a decision on Spaceport Camden by Nov. 3. Previously, the FAA had said it intended to make a final determination on the project by the end of September.

Local officials in Camden County have spent nine years and $10 million seeking permission to build the nation’s 13th licensed commercial spaceport. An environmental impact study by the FAA in June recommended a permit for the spaceport.

The National Park Service pushed back over the summer, saying a chance of explosive misfires over federally protected Cumberland Island posed an “unacceptable risk.”