Starfighters gain access to KSC runway

A Starfighters CF-104 operating at McDill AFB air show, April 2005. After a "long, long fight," the Tarpon Springs company will no longer need to rehearse a Single-Stage to Orbit space plane notion within the confines of Martin Schweiger's Orbiter Simulator. They will, instead, fly from the main runway originally built for the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center. [Full-Size Image]

Curtis Krueger
St. Petersburg Times

"The Tarpon Springs company, Starfighters, owns four F-104 Starfighter jets, a type of fighter jet once used by the U.S. Air Force and others. NASA said the business will fly jets from the runway as part of its effort to boost the development of private space flights."

Read the story HERE.

"A landmark was achieved in commercial space today when Starfighters, Inc. signed a Cooperative Space Act Agreement with NASA Kennedy Space Center to operate its fleet of Lockheed F-104 Starfighters from the Space Shuttle Landing Facility..."

From the Starfighters, Inc. website.