1. It is the most suitable location for a launch pad in the United States
Florida’s Space Coast, which lies along the 72-mile-long coastline stretching from Titusville to Viera, the best place for rocket launches because of its proximity to the equator. Because the Earth rotates most quickly at the equator, rockets gain orbital velocity when they are launched from a southerly location.
Also, because of the direction of the rotation of the Earth, a rocket flies over uninhabited areas when launched, eliminating the possibility of debris crashing on densely populated cities.
2. The Space Coast is making an economic comeback
The 2008 economic recession, coupled with the end of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, had a huge impact on the Space Coast. More than 8,500 employees of the Kennedy Space Center lost their jobs, raising unemployment in the region to around 11.8%.
Capitalizing on its existing facilities and specialized workers, the Space Coast is diversifying into the aerospace sector. Between 2010 and 2017, the area has seen 49 investments that added $1.68 billion to the local economy. Today, the region wants to connect with more private companies to manufacture more components for the aerospace supply chain.
3. Human spaceflight is also making a comeback
While it has been eight years since it last sent an astronaut into space, NASA plans to plans to revive human spaceflight soon. Collaborating with Boeing and SpaceX to design a new generation of rockets, NASA has already announced that four astronauts were already selected for its upcoming missions.
While they aim to launch their first commercial space flights by the end of 2019, Boeing and SpaceX have already planned test launches for their respective spacecraft rockets. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon test launch is scheduled on March 2, while Boeing’s Starliner is slated for April 25.
