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TITUSVILLE - Something other than birds could be flying from the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge if a NASA proposal gets off the ground. Last year, NASA commissioned a study to evaluate potential sites for hosting the Commercial Vertical Launch Complex on about 200 acres of KSC's 140,000 acres, including the area managed by the refuge. Abandoned launchpads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station weren't considered because the Air Force, not NASA, owns the property, officials said. NASA is directed by U.S. space policy to cultivate the development of commercial launch capability on federal ranges, and some private aerospace companies already have expressed an interest, Busacca said. Charles Blakey, a Titusville resident and owner of Central Florida Bird Watchers, a birding and photography business that escorts small groups mainly from Europe and Asia to the refuge and other ecological sites.

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Posted Under: Bird Watching