Tonopah rocket testing lease a bust? County moves to terminate agreement
Two years ago, Swedish-American based aerospace company Pythom Inc. secured a five-year lease with Nye County for land at the Tonopah Airport, a location the company feels is prime for its rocket testing. However, Pythom’s apparent refusal to adhere to recently issued requirements laid down by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now prompted the county to put the company on notice – if it does not do as required by mid-December, the lease will be terminated.
“Back in 2022, we went into an agreement with Pythom to do standing rocket testing at the Tonopah Airport. Beginning of this year, they approached the FAA to do hot testing, which brought them under the light of the FAA,” Nye County Utilities Superintendent Darrin Tuck told Nye County commissioners this month.
Hot testing differs from static rocket testing in that static tests, as the name implies, occur with the rocket engine mounted on a stand firmly affixed to the ground.
“So they changed their mind on the hot testing, they wanted to continue with their static testing but the FAA says there are certain requirements they need to meet just to be there,” Tuck detailed. “We’ve approached them a couple of times on this. They feel that is it our responsibility to take care of the FAA and so I think we need a serious approach to get them into compliance.”
“Bring down the hammer,” commission chair Debra Strickland affirmed. She then added that the action being considered was simply a notice of intent, not a formal termination, leading commissioner Frank Carbone to ask about the termination timeline.
“We’re giving them until Dec. 15 to decide they want to comply with FAA and if not, I can put an item on the (Dec.) 17th meeting to issue that termination,” interim Nye County Manager Lorina Dellinger explained.
Commissioner Bruce Jabbour made the motion to issue the notice of intent to terminate the lease, with a second from Carbone. The motion passed with all in favor.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
