One Less Spaceport in Texas
Published on Mar 2, 2007 at 3:45 pm.
7 Comments.
Filed under rockets, space businesses.
Building a spaceport isn’t easy, as Brazoria County in Texas has figured out. I saw this story at the Personal Spaceflight blog and decided to comment on it.
It is clear that space is no longer only within the reach of big government space programs. More and more private aerospace businesses are being formed. A great many of these have already even launched rockets. Some of these rockets are high altitude research rockets, some are suborbital rockets, and some have even put payloads into orbit. There are several commercial spaceports under construction around the world, and several others being planned. Within just a few years, there may be regular passenger service into space (only suborbital flights are planned now, but who knows how long it will be until orbital flights are possible). There are even a handful of companies working feverishly to come up with an orbital vehicle that can dock with the International Space Station. After the Space Shuttle program is shut down, they are betting that NASA will pay them to send astronauts and cargo to and from the space station.
Naturally, many states would like a piece of the action. After all, spaceports bring jobs and business. Besides, can you imagine how much you can tax something like that???? So, in 1999, the Texas Legislature passed legislation that permitted the creation of autonomous local public agencies called Space Development Corporations. 
Three counties in Texas created such agencies to pursue spaceport development: Pecos County (in west Texas), Brazoria County (south of Houston), and Willacy County (in south Texas). Each site had its own pluses and minuses. The West Texas site was the most remote and had the least nearby population. The South Texas site is about as far south as you can get in the continental United States, and the closer to the equator, the easier it is to launch into orbit. The Brazoria County site was near the Johnson Space Center and numerous aerospace businesses in the area. Both the Brazorial County site and the Willacy County site offered launch sites that could launch over open water. That is desirable in case of a launch failure. A launch over water wouldn’t have debris raining down on anyone. Texas even developed a Strategic Plan for Commercial Spaceport Development (12MB pdf file).
Well, the group in Pecos County quickly got to work and they built a spaceport, secured partners, clients, and have even begun to launch rockets. The others, though, have mostly continued to study the idea of a spaceport. The South Texas Spaceport apparently has a small launch pad and is capable of launching small sounding rockets. But, it appears now that the Brazoria County Spaceport is dead. County commissioners voted to dissolve the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport Development Corporation. They spent a lot of state money and studied and studied the idea of a spaceport. In fact, one member of their board, John Willy, when talking about what was happening in Pecos County once said, “I wonder what we’re doing wrong, why we’re not doing this. We can sit and talk about this for a long time and not get anything accomplished.” (quote taken from a report by the Facts, a regional news source for the county.)
About all that they ever did at the Brazoria site was to build a launch pad for amateur rocketeers to launch high altitude rockets. That isn’t much of a spaceport. They had big plans, though. They wanted to build launch facilities, as well as runways for suborbital craft to land again. There was opposition, to be sure. This was not as remote of a site as the others, so people did live in the area. They worried about noise and safety. There is a wildlife preserve nearby, and environmentalists worried about the environmental impacts. Of course, the Kennedy Space Center is a major wildlife refuge in its own right, so clearly spaceports and wildlife can coexist. But, the members of the spaceport board apparently did little to address these concerns. In fact, looking at their web page, I noticed that it has not even been updated in almost a year, and it still has “news” from three years ago as if it is the freshest and latest thing. So, it is no wonder that the county commissioners’ court voted to do away with the thing. It seems a shame that all that money was spent on doing studies and talking about a spaceport when it could have been used to actually build one. But, there are still two other spaceport projects in the works in Texas, and at least one of them is going quite strongly.
-Astroprof
(Spaceport image credit: Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport. Participating counties map credit: Texas Governor’s Office)
Jeff Foust on March 4, 2007 at 5:57 pm: 1
Actually, the Pecos County site is not that much farther along than Brazoria: neither has attracted much interest from emerging commercial space companies, which have been focused on sites in California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The difference is that the Pecos site did not face the local opposition that doomed the Brazoria site. Perhaps the most advanced, active launch site in Texas is the private facility built by Blue Origin north of Van Horn in west Texas.
Astroprof on March 4, 2007 at 7:41 pm: 2
Thanks for the added info. I was of the understanding that a few sounding rockets had at least been launched from the Pecos County site. I might have also confused the Blue Origin site with the Pecos County site (both are in West Texas). At any rate, it looks like the Brazoria County site is pretty much gone except for a launch pad for amateur rocket launches.
Neil Milburn on April 28, 2007 at 8:33 pm: 3
We have been so busy of late at Armadillo Aerospace that I only just noticed that the Gulf Coast Spaceport had been abandoned … crying shame!
Armadillo Aerospace had talked with GCSA about the potential of launching orbital flights from the proposed spaceport. In support of this we would have also undertaken research and development flights thru’ sub-orbital including manned flights.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the green activists have effectively killed the embryonic spaceport. It’s a good job that Brazoria county doesn’t need any economic development!
For their information, the world’s largest launch facility is built around a wetlands, close to a tourist resort and the launch path passes over fertile fishing grounds. But then who wants another Kennedy Space Center / Cape Canaveral in South Texas?
Unfortunately, the greenies won’t be happy until we are all living in mud huts, riding bicycles and wiping our asses on a single sheet of Cheryl Crowe (its new name in our house.)
Responsible environmental stewardship is achievable without a return to the dark ages. Meantime, a Texas based and homegrown company will emigrate to New Mexico and Spaceport America.
End of rant.
Mark Goll on June 22, 2007 at 10:27 am: 4
I’m trying as hard as I can to get something going at the Willacy County site, but apathy seems to rein supreme. I’ve come to the conclusion that people don’t want cheap free enterprise access to space, they want FREE NASA provided access to space.
I’ve got a proven marketing plan, a mission, simple readily avaliable technology, but nobody wants to be involved.
Mark Goll
CEO Texas Spacelines Inc.
19785 Marbach Lane
San Antonio, Texas
78266
210 651 6558
markgoll@wt.net
web.wt.net/~markgoll/
John K Ward on November 6, 2008 at 11:48 am: 5
I also am distressed at the apathy about spaceports in Texas. I had been named volunteer Business Development Director for the Brazoria County spaceport. I was fired. I since have realized it was because I was actually developing potential business. The leadership did not really have its heart into the spaceport. We met opposition from NIMBYs in the vicinity and the effort crumbled. It was not the greenies that killed the project. The public meeting had some greenies, but it was mostly residents of a retirement and fishing community nearby that raised the most argument. The county commissioners disbanded the effort shortly afterward. The spaceport was SO right for Brazoria County that I still entertain dreams for its revitalization, this time with leadership with more vision. The proximity to Houston, the position toward the equator, the overwater launch path, the proximity to industrial support in the county, a supportive college in the county and a host of other positives made this such a GO. There is an extreme unmet need for private space launch capability! American corporations are going to the French and the Russians, and likely soon to other countries to provide what we cannot here domestically. If anybody is in a position to help revitalize the effort, please contact John K Ward at jandjward@sbcglobal.net. I am presently in England, but will return to Brazoria County in December 2008. I woulde like to be a part of making this needed spaceport a reality.
Richard Perwien on October 22, 2009 at 11:46 am: 6
I would also like to be a part of revitalizing the effort to develop a spaceport.
Richard Perwien richard@locatehere.com
832-419-4194
Tom Taroni on January 21, 2012 at 9:17 pm: 7
Quit dreaming about a Spaceport in Brazoria county. It ain’t go’in to happen