BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The effort continues to name Brownsville the next “space city”. Currently two cities in the U.S. have that title, Houston and Cape Canaveral. Now Brownsville wants in. It is a title that exists only by name, but with SpaceX getting ready a for launch in 2020, the community excitement and interest are expected to grow.

The South Texas Astronomical Society hosting a panel to begin discussions on what it means to have a space program in our back yards.

Richard Camuccio, Cristina V. Torres Memorial Observatory, Assistant Director, “There’s this interest that is there that needs to be tapped. I see it that it will happen. It’s an inevitability. It’s not if but when.”

It’s not the first time the idea has been floated around. In 2019 staff from NASA spoke about Brownsville’s potential to become a space city. Referring to the creations of new industry jobs, both directly and assisting with space travel. Academic focus on the sciences and engineering.

Right now SpaceX makes up a major bulk of space exploration in South Texas, but the goal is to have a regional effort in schools, the general public, and local business.

Victor De Los Santos, South Texas Astronomical Society, “When we do become the space city, it’s the culture and it’s the people and we’re all a part of it. it’s not just big corporations coming in and doing all the work.

Marija Jette, South Texas Astronomical Society, “Getting all these forces together and multiplying the effect. Really making a name for Brownsville as the place to do research and create new exciting business and technologies.

One of the many big space projects for SpaceX in the future involves travel to Mars.