A week ago representatives from SpaceX were in Brownsville fielding questions from residents wanting to know more about the company and exactly what it does.
On Tuesday, SpaceX and its founder, billionaire Elon Musk, showed the world what they can do by launching the first commercial rocket to the International Space Station.
A Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., carried into orbit a Dragon spacecraft packed with 1,000 pounds of supplies for the space station.
SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies, is considering a tract in Cameron County for an additional launch site for future flights.
Tuesday’s successful launch marks a first for private industry.
“Falcon flew perfectly!!” Musk, said via Twitter. “Feels like a giant weight just came off my back,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Musk later told reporters: “For us, it’s like winning the Super Bowl.”
Cameron County Precinct 4 Commissioner Dan Sanchez attended the launch at Cape Canaveral.
“When they did the countdown and it ignited, it was pretty amazing. I had never seen a launch. I had never gotten to attend any type of launch of a space shuttle or any other type of rocket. It was a lot more amazing in person then what you see on TV,” Sanchez said.
“I didn’t expect it to be as bright. The whole sky just lit up when the rocket took off,” he said, noting that he was at a NASA observation deck, some 5 to 7 miles from the launch site.
Sanchez is vacationing at Disney World and was able to get an invitation to the launch, which had been scheduled for Saturday but was aborted a half-second before liftoff because of a bad engine valve.
Cameron County is one of three sites SpaceX is considering for the construction of another launch pad. The site under consideration is at the eastern end of State Highway 4, about 3 miles north of the Mexican border. It is about 5 miles south of Port Isabel and South Padre Island.
Cameron County Precinct 1 Commissioner Sofia C. Benavides said she was elated when she heard Tuesday morning that liftoff had occurred.
“I was really happy to hear that,” she said.
Like many people in the Rio Grande Valley, Benavides was disappointed Saturday when the launch was aborted.
“I think while some of the people may have been a little let down the other today, I think everybody is happy to see that everything went well this morning,” Benavides said Tuesday.
About 500 people turned out for a recent public hearing on SpaceX’s proposal to build a launch site in Cameron County. The hearing was May 15 at the International Technology, Education and Commerce Center in Brownsville.
Dozens of people took the microphone and all supported the venture. A few voiced concerns about the wildlife in the area and the maintenance of the highway leading to and from the proposed launch site.
The other sites SpaceX is considering for a launch site are in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Gilbert Salinas, executive vice president at BEDC, said he watched the rocket launch online early Tuesday morning.
“I felt a huge relief, but also a huge, huge level of excitement. … I am hoping that the next chapter in space history will be launching a rocket from the first-ever commercial launch site, which in this case would be Brownsville, Texas,” Salinas said.
Musk refers to his project as the “commercial Cape Canaveral.” His company is working with city and county officials here should SpaceX decide to build such a launch site in the Brownsville area.
In addition to the active launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX is currently developing a launch site at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. The company also operates a rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas.
SpaceX is based in Hawthorne, Calif.
