HOUSTON – Ellington Field will become home to a launch site spaceport, one of only 10 such sites in the United States.
That means Houston will improve on its role as a key player in the space industry through astronaut training and the building of spacecraft.
Tuesday's announcement, officials said, essentially launches Houston into the future of space travel.
At the moment Ellington Field is an airport with runways, lots of acreage and, according to area leaders, prime real estate to launch Houston's future in space exploration.
"The city of Houston has been approved by the FAA to build and operate a licensed, commercial spaceport. So let's celebrate that," said Houston Mayor Annise Parker.
Parker officially ushered in what's being called Houston Spaceport, a launch site for spacecraft. Houston is now one of 10 cities in the country allowed to do that.
"Just like an airport. It's not an airport. It's a spaceport. But the vision is the same," Mario Diaz, aviation director for the Houston Airport System, said. "The vision is to connect the people, business culture and economy to Houston to space."
Local officials said think of an airport with commercial voyages run by private companies and replace the planes with spacecraft, also known as reusable launch vehicles. But there is room for concern.
On Sunday, a similar vessel operated by SpaceX exploded because of pressure issues, sparking doubt about whether privately-driven space exploration is the right answer. Local leaders said hesitation is understandable but kinks are and will be ironed out.
"This industry is fraught with a lot of setbacks and a lot of dangers that we've seen over the last seven or nine months. But there is will in mankind to make that leap to continue to push forward," said Diaz.
There isn't a price tag on how much this will cost, nor is there a plan of action as to when ground will be broken.
Officials told us that all depends on several things, including commercial partnerships and partnerships with area schools. But they said the license and the announcement Tuesday mean in the near future they'll have that plan figured out.