KSC-01PADIG-065

At a groundbreaking ceremony, participants and guests toss their shovelfuls of dirt, signifying the start of construction on a new roadway through KSC. From left are Dr. Pamella J. Dana, from the executive office of Florida’s governor, Jeb Bush; Deputy Associate Administrator Michael Hawes, NASA; Sen. George Kirkpatrick; Spaceport Florida Authority Executive Director Ed Gormel; Executive Director Dr. Samuel T. Durrance, Florida Space Research Institute; Florida’s Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan; Congressman Dave Weldon; Center Director Roy Bridges Jr.; SFA SERPL Program Manager Debra Holliday; KSC SERPL Program Manager Jan Heuser; District Manager Cheryl Harrison-Lee, Florida Department of Transportation; State Senator Jim Sebesta; and KSC Director JoAnn H. Morgan, External Relations and Business Development The roadway, to be known as Space Commerce Way, will serve the public by providing a 24-hour access route through KSC from S.R. 3 to the NASA Causeway and KSC Visitor Complex. It is the start of a construction project that includes the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL). Considered a magnet facility, the laboratory will support the development and processing of life sciences experiments destined for the International Space Station and accommodate NASA, industry and academic researchers performing associated biological research.. The project is enabled by a partnership and collaboration between NASA and the State of Florida to create a vital resource for international and commercial space customers