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East Central
Brevard • Lake • Orange • Osceola • Seminole • Sumter • Volusia
East Central
1 Commercially Licensed Spaceport
1 Deep-water Seaport
4 Commercial Airports
14 Colleges / Universities
Florida’s East Central region is recognized throughout the world for its real rockets and mega theme parks. But if that’s all you know about this place, it’s time to take a closer look. Thanks to a workforce of 10.6 million, four commercial airports, one seaport, a spaceport and 118 miles of Atlantic coastline, technology, transportation, health care and education thrive here too.
Aviation/Aerospace
Florida’s Space Coast remains abuzz with anticipation regarding the launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission. Canceled its first two tries because of rocket malfunctions, then postponed a third time in advance of Hurricane Ian, plans now call for liftoff later this fall, possibly between November 12 and 27, 2022.
Elsewhere along the Cape:
• Satellite manufacturing company Terran Orbital has announced plans to build a 660,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing complex capable of producing 1,000 satellites per year in Merritt Island. Estimated completion: 2025
• Space Perspective, a space tourism company with plans to ferry people to the edge of the atmosphere in its space balloons beginning in 2024, is building a headquarters and manufacturing facility at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville with an estimated 240 jobs expected by the end of 2026.
• At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, “Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex,” a 50,000-sq.-ft. attraction showcasing the future of space exploration and including a simulated journey through space, has opened.
KEY PLAYERS: Blue Origin, Kent, Wa.; Boeing, Chicago, Ill.; Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island; SpaceX, Hawthorn, Ca.
