Texas Wants to be the Leader in Space... Again.

Nov 28, The Texas Tribune released an article titled "In Texas, a NewKind of Space Race Emerges"

           

            SpaceX is a company name that many people today know about.  SpaceX is trying to achieve something that mankind has yearned for since the discovery of the heavenly bodies themselves. Space colonization.  Currently SpaceX is trying to build a launch pad in Brownsville Texas so that later they can send colonist to Mars. Texas officials waved several million dollars of incentives in SpaceX's face in hopes of the launch pad being build in Brownsville.

           

            As soon as the Texas showed the money, many opinions began to pop up. Many Texans supported the idea, especially the people of Brownsville. With more than 30 percent of Brownsville's population in poverty, SpaceX's launch pad is just what Brownsville needs to boom again. “It’s going to take us to a whole different level in the state of Texas,” said Gilberto Salinas, the executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council. Texas has always been aiming for space superiority since the Kennedy administration. It would seem that Texas still wants to keep that lead even without NASA.

           

            On the other hand there are many people who do not look forward to SpaceX's intrusion.  Some Texas officials state that giving SpaceX millions for a launch pad is the same as throwing the money away.  “That’s kind of the rub for us, not just that they put all their eggs in one basket, but that they spent so much money” stated Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation. While Paul does have a point of Texas pouring a lot of money into a single business. It can also be said that the tourism alone can well be worth a couple of million.