Bezos’ Rocket Enterprise Expands, Has Roots in West Texas

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced on Tuesday, September 15, the expansion of his Washington-based space venture, Blue Origin, would begin work in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to advance a timeline of satellite and space-tourism launches.

Blue Origin is based in Washington state but operates a testing facility outside of Van Horn, Texas, about 120 miles southeast of El Paso. The facility is testing vertical take-off and landings of first-stage rocket boosters. Bezos announced on Tuesday that Blue Origin aims to be able to transport astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017.

Bezos is not the only CEO vying in the corporate space race with properties in Texas. Elon Musk’s SpaceX broke ground on a new commercial launch facility in East Texas’ Cameron County in September of 2014.