SpaceX to Build Commercial Rocket Launch Site in South Texas

SpaceX will build a new commercial rocket launch facility in South Texas.

The world's first commercial launch site in the Cameron County will pump $85 million as capital investment in the local economy and create 300 jobs in the region.

Governer Rick Perry's office said Monday that the state is offering $2.3 million from Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) to bring the project into Texas.

SpaceX's commercial launchpad will be located near Brownsville in south Texas, Bloomberg reported.

"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. Perry said in a statement. "In addition to growing the aerospace industry in Texas, SpaceX's facility will provide myriad opportunities for STEM education in South Texas, and inspire a new generation of Texas engineers and innovators."

Texas will offer another $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corp. to develop infrastructure for a spaceport, Associated Press reported. Space X already has a rocket testing facility in McGregor, which employs 250 people.

Space X designs and launches commercial rockets. Recently, the company succeeded in sending payload to the International Space Station.

"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 in a news release. "In addition to creating hundreds of high tech jobs for the Texas workforce, this site will inspire students, expand the supplier base and attract tourists to the south Texas area."

Gilbert Salinas, an economic-development coordinator for Brownsville, told the Wall Street Journal that the new project can create 500 jobs over the next decade and generate over $50 million annually in salaries. The gain could be much higher if other companies decide to start projects in the area to supplement the launch facility.

Two out five people live in poverty in Boca Chica Beach in the state's southernmost tip, where the proposed project will be established. The deal reached final stages of approval after more than three years of discussions among officials from Texas and SpaceX representatives, Bloomberg reported.

The proposed site is bordered on three sides by state park land and is managed by the federal government as part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Impact of the launchpad on environment, thus, was a huge factor in determining the feasibility of the project in the region. The Federal Aviation Administration released a report late May saying that the project is unlikely to harm the protected animal species, Associated Press reported.