Fwd: Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: August 5, 2014 10:05:41 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville

From: Jeff Adams  
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2014 8:20 AM
To: Gary Johnson
Subject: Fw: Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville

 

Subject: Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville

 

 

 

This is an artist rendering of a proposed spaceport at Boca Chica Beach in Cameron, County, Texas near Brownsville, Texas. Image from Space X This is an artist rendering of a proposed spaceport at Boca Chica Beach in Cameron, County, Texas near Brownsville, Texas.

 

It's been known for awhile that Brownsville was the sole finalist for SpaceX's proposed spaceport, but now it's official.

Today the state of Texas and SpaceX announced that, contingent upon final approval of local agreements and receipt of additional required permits, the rocket company will build a spaceport in South Texas.

"Texas has been on the forefront of our nation's space exploration efforts for decades, so it is fitting that SpaceX has chosen our state as they expand the frontiers of commercial space flight," Gov. Rick Perry said in a news release.

Texas will offer $2.3 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund to bring the company here. The state is also offering $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corp. The fund is used to support the development of infrastructure necessary for establishing a spaceport.

"SpaceX is excited to expand our work in Texas with the world's first commercial launch complex designed specifically for orbital missions. We appreciate the support of Gov. Perry and numerous other federal, state and local officials who have partnered with us to make this vision a reality," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said.

The proposed 56.5-acre launch site could blast up to 12 rockets a year into space, including two Falcon 9 Heavy rockets, which could begin flying in 2015. These launches would be for commercial (i.e. satellites) as well as possibly NASA purposes.

This is obviously a huge step forward for the state's space industry, which here to fore has focused on managing human missions once they're in flight, not the actual business of launching rockets.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Texas-SpaceX-announce-spaceport-deal-near-5667434.php#photo-6682718