Air Products lands in Melbourne the week it anchors Space Coast supply chain

Air Products flew from Lehigh Valley International Airport to Melbourne Orlando International Airport on May 26, a 51-minute hop in its Falcon 2000EX, N79TF, that brought Chief Executive Eduardo Menezes to the Florida Space Coast.

The same week, Air Products announced plans to build, own and operate a new air separation unit in Cocoa, Florida, that will produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon for commercial space launches and the regional merchant market, per the company's own news release. The facility, targeted for the second half of 2028, positions Air Products to serve a surge in launch demand from SpaceX, Blue Origin and NASA at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company has already secured over $140 million in NASA contracts this year to supply liquid hydrogen to those facilities, as reported by PRNewswire in January.

The trip fits a pattern: Air Products is deepening its aerospace footprint along the Space Coast. Its Lehigh Valley headquarters remains the nerve center for the industrial gas giant's global operations, but Florida is becoming a recurring destination for Mr. Menezes as the company bets on cryogenic infrastructure in the state where it has operated an air separation unit for more than three decades.