SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket launches are expected to draw massive crowds to Florida’s Space Coast, similar to NASA’s space shuttle era.
High-profile launches boost Brevard County’s economy through tourism, with visitors spending an average of $231 per day.
While Texas launches are a novelty, Florida is preparing for up to 120 annual Starship launches, which officials estimate will create jobs and billions in investment.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 220,000 spectators still swarmed Space Coast beachside and riverfront rocket-viewing sites in May 2020 to see America’s first crewed launch since the end of the space shuttle program — though NASA had urged people to stay home and watch on TV instead.
Experts say similar crowds could converge for SpaceX’s historic initial launches of Starship-Super Heavy — the most powerful rocket system in world history — from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
“Just given the size of it and the curiosity of the thing, I think the crowds could be similar to the old days of the shuttle launches,
Will SpaceX’s Starship help spur an economic boom near Cape Canaveral?
