Canadian citizen charged with using drone to photograph Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Silas Morgan, Orlando Sentinel on Feb 13, 2025

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A Canadian citizen was recently charged with using a drone to photograph defense installations and equipment at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Xiao Guang Pan, 71, who is in the United States on a tourist visa, used a drone on three separate days in January to take aerial photographs of Space Launch complexes, a payload processing facility, a submarine wharf and munitions bunkers, according to the DOJ.

He was charged Tuesday with three counts of use of an aircraft for the unlawful photographing of a defense installation without authorization in the Orlando division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

While Pan’s first court appearance was initially scheduled for March 11, DOJ requested his appearance be moved to Friday after he informed them he’s suffering from recently emerging medical concerns, must refill prescriptions before March 11 and that his current doctor is in Canada, according to a court filing from DOJ.

The court filing said the Friday hearing would be to determine appropriate conditions of Pan’s release and that DOJ does not anticipate seeking to have him be detained.