Texas eager to build space launching facilities

BBC:

Texas wants to reclaim the mantle of space travel hub it won as the home of Nasa by taking advantage of the expanding private-sector spaceflight industry.

Budget cuts led to the end of the space shuttle programme in 2011 and a seemingly diminished role for Nasa, Texas and even the US in space travel. Nasa started having to pay Russia to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

At the same time, however, Nasa worked with the private sector to support commercial space travel.

Ever a business-savvy state, Texas is doing all it can to entice the private spaceflight industry, starting by securing its own space port.

"We are not trying to reinvent anything, but want to grow into the future of spaceflight," says Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership that works with Nasa to identify potential partners. "Houston is the home of human space exploration."

Texas has set the gold standard for attracting commercial spaceflight companies, according to industry insiders. They argue that if Texas keeps doing the right thing with economic incentives and legislation it could take the lead in a rapidly expanding market.

Commercial spaceflight offers rich rewards for companies and the states within which they locate. SpaceX, for example, a pioneer in the private spaceflight industry, has more than 40 contracted launches on its schedule, including some with Nasa to resupply the ISS, which are worth $4bn (£2.6bn).
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SpaceX is considering establishing one of the world's few commercial orbital launch sites on the Texas coast at Boca Chica Beach. Its Falcon 9 series of rockets are currently built in California and driven by truck to Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, from where they take supplies to the ISS.

Texas has competition: Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico are also vying to host SpaceX's new launch site. But it remains a leading candidate, according to Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind SpaceX.

Texas' bid is strengthened by SpaceX already having operations in Texas (it has a rocket development facility near Waco) and by the state's strong supplier base and business-friendly environment, according to Christina Ra, SpaceX's director of communications.

Texas' southern and coastal location is ideal for US-based orbital launches, and the state has established the necessary laws to protect private-sector spaceflight activities from liability.
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There is more.

Boca Chica is at the tip of Texas where the Rio Grande spills into the Gulf of Mexico.  A facility there would be a boon for the Lower Rio Grande Valley whose economy has been agricultural and trade with Mexico.  It is a fast growing area of the state.   The area around the Johnson Space Center south of Houston is also competing to be a space port and it has a population of experts in the business already.