Featured Image Source: Corgan Spaceport Design (Edit: Tesmanian.com)

On Thursday, January 13^th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a $10 Million Spaceport Trust Fund (STF) grant for spaceport development in Houston and Cameron County. “Spaceport Trust Fund grant awards of $5,000,000 to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corporation and $5,000,000 to the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation. Administered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism, the Spaceport Trust Fund is a financial tool to support the development of infrastructure necessary for establishing a spaceport in the state of Texas,” the office of the Texas governor said in a press release. “The 87th Legislature appropriated $10,000,000 in funds in fiscal year 2022 to provide grants, disbursed on a cost-reimbursement basis, to help support the creation of quality jobs and attract continuing investments that will strengthen the economic future of the state.”

Cameron County is the home to SpaceX’s Starbase facility at Boca Chica Beach, where the company’s founder Elon Musk envisions a fleet of Starships lifting off on voyages to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. SpaceX already built a rocket factory and launch site to develop the Starship spacecraft. The region was under the radar for decades before SpaceX broke ground, now Texas leaders hope to attract businesses and tourism through SpaceX operations.  “For decades, Texas has been a trailblazer in space technology and we are proud to help cultivate more innovation and development in this growing industry in Cameron and Harris County,” said Governor Abbott. “This investment in the Cameron County and Houston Spaceport Development Corporations will create even more economic opportunities for Texans across the state and continue our legacy as a leader in space technology,” he stated. The Spaceport Trust Fund grants will be available to any spaceport development corporation that has a viable business and is capable of launching and landing reusable spacecraft and plans to locate its headquarters at the Corporation’s planned spaceport location(s) in Texas. As of today, it is unknown whether SpaceX plans to apply for a grant but it’s clear Governor Abbott is supportive of space business and hopes other aerospace companies and agencies expand to the state.

Houston became a popular place for space ventures since astronauts landed on the Moon half-a-century ago. It is where NASA’s mission control is headquartered and where astronaut training takes place at the Johnson Space Center. The city has grown into a space hub where commercial companies have started new space businesses. With the grant, the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation aims to attract even more companies to build campuses at their designated spaceport. Multiple companies have announced plans to build a facility at the spaceport, including: Axiom Space, an agency that offers space tourism flights and has bold plans to deploy a commercial space station to low Earth orbit; Intuitive Machines, a technology company that is developing a lunar lander for NASA to land cargo on the moon; And Collins Aerospace has plans to build a manufacturing facility at the Houston Spaceport. 

Featured Image Source: Corgan Spaceport Design (Edit: Tesmanian.com)