A South Florida company is leading the charge to construct a world-class space manufacturing center right here in the Sunshine State.
Satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital is partnering with Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development agency, to develop a 660,000-square-foot facility on Merritt Island, the Space Coast community that is also home to the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
Terran Orbital, headquartered in Boca Raton, is investing $300 million to build what it says will be the largest satellite manufacturing facility in the world. The location will feature 10 automated and augmented hangers capable of producing thousands of satellites per year.
"We are pleased to partner with Space Florida to build a facility that we view as a national asset: a commercially funded contribution to our nation's space industrial base," said co-founder and CEO Marc Bell.
The company expects to create 2,100 new jobs at an average wage of $84,000 by 2025, he added.
Founded in 2013, Terran Orbital manufactures small satellites with remote sensors that can capture images on the Earth's surface. The venture has raised $43 million over two financing rounds, according to Crunchbase. Miami-based Fuel Venture Capital is among its investors.
Florida leaders hope to make the state one of the global centers of the emerging space industry. The sector was valued at more than $440 billion in 2020, with commercial activity representing close to 80% of that figure.
"This announcement is yet another milestone in Florida's leadership in space commerce, offering state-of-the-art development, including launch-on-demand and satellite-on-demand capability at the spaceport," said Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello.
South Florida doesn't want to miss out on those opportunities. This year, Nova Southeastern University's new Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation launched its Levl5: Space Dock initiative, an education and business incubation program that aims establish the tri-county region as a center for space entrepreneurship.
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