SpaceX And Blue Origin Vie For New Launch Site On California Coast

The California coast beckons, a desolate stretch of land at the southern tip of Vandenberg Space Force Base awaiting transformation into a launch site for massive rockets. This development has piqued the interest of two space industry giants: Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Officials at the base, located about 150 miles north of Los Angeles, have solicited proposals from space firms to build a launch complex for heavy or super-heavy spacecraft. The contenders, SpaceX and Blue Origin, are expected to submit bids to develop the site for their respective giant rockets – Starship and New Glenn. For SpaceX, this potential West Coast site would mark an expansion of its launch infrastructure, currently concentrated in South Texas and Florida, where the company is building additional launch facilities.

Blue Origin, based in Kent, Washington, is also likely to vie for the site, which would be its first West Coast launch location. This competition is not unprecedented for the two billionaires and their space companies. In 2013, Blue Origin protested SpaceX’s plans for an exclusive lease at Launch Complex 39A, a historic pad at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.