Florida, Puerto Rico and Texas in race to lure new SpaceX launchpad

LANZAMIENTOS ESPACIALES DESDE PUERTO RICO:
mj

As private space operations become more common, regions are competing fierce for their piece of the galaxy.


A record-breaking mission to the International Space Station has triggered another space race back on Earth, with Florida competing against Texas and Puerto Rico for the chance to land a new launchpad for Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, and its ambitious line of Falcon rockets.


The rivalry — already ongoing — only has intensified in the weeks since SpaceX became the first commercial company to blast a spacecraft to the station and return it safely to Earth. And though none of the rivals has made public the incentives each is offering, the numbers are certain to be in the millions of dollars.


The stakes are high: hundreds of good-paying jobs at SpaceX and supporting companies that would pop up around its operation, as well as the prestige — at a time when NASA is no longer flying its own rockets — of serving as home to the commercial space industry’s most successful startup.


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