[Wattleigh]

A couple of excerpts on the recent overall developments from a piece on both the Spaceport and Space Center Houston.

https://communityimpact.com/houston/...lunar-mission/

Ready to launch: Houston Spaceport, museum plan expansions as astronauts prep lunar mission

By Jake Magee | 12:02 PM May 15, 2023 CDT
Updated 12:02 PM May 15, 2023 CDT

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Phase 2 will be about 300 acres, and its infrastructure is estimated to cost $80 million. Expected to break ground in the next 12 to 18 months, Phase 2 will include parcels for other aerospace companies to locate to the spaceport. Machuca said spaceport officials are in “serious conversations” with three such undisclosed companies.

In addition, Phase 2 will include land for a hotel, restaurants and retail centers to make the spaceport a destination. The spaceport will eventually include a terminal that will allow residents to fly on hypersonic jets to reach faraway destinations in a fraction of the time it takes today, Machuca said.

Another unique project slated for Phase 2 is the Aerospace Institute.

At the EDGE Center within Phase 1 of the spaceport, San Jacinto College and other higher education institutions help train students how to work in the aerospace industry. The institute will be a continuation of that idea and involve more local colleges to make sure the spaceport has capacity to train the next generation of aerospace workers, Machuca said.

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Spaceport officials are already considering ways to expose the public to the spaceport.

The Houston Airport System, Harris County Precinct 2 and the city of Houston are working together on a project to build a road through the middle of the spaceport. This road would divert traffic from Space Center Boulevard through the spaceport to connect to Hwy. 3, Machuca said.

Today, Space Center Boulevard moves through residential areas, so this new road would not only divert ever-growing traffic through the spaceport but also expose commuters to it, he said.

Additionally, officials are considering a public transit hub to help further connect the spaceport to San Jacinto College where EDGE Center students attend college, the adjacent neutral buoyancy lab where astronauts train, and the Johnson Space Center where NASA employees work, Machuca said.

“We just don’t want to build a manufacturing site that doesn’t contribute positively to our community,” Machuca said.

Scott Spiegel, senior press secretary for Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, said Garcia recognizes the importance of the spaceport and surrounding area to the region’s future.

“He looks forward to working with the city of Houston and other local partners to determine that appropriate infrastructure needs in the region are met,” Spiegel said in a statement to Community Impact.

“Ellington Bypass Road could prove to be an important piece to the spaceport’s needs, and we look forward to seeing the city of Houston preliminary engineering report.”

Furthermore, work will soon begin on a new taxiway to the northwest of phases 1 and 2. This runway will allow aircraft to take off and land right next to aerospace companies, such as Axiom, which will use the taxiway to unload parts for the space station it is building, Machuca said.

Spaceport officials are on the verge of announcing the contractor for the taxiway project. The plan is to build the northern half of it to start at an estimated cost of $130 million, Machuca said.