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“In towns and cities... there is no more important institution than the local paper.”
Warren Buffett
SpaceX is coming to Long Beach.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted during its Monday, April 26, meeting to approve a sublease that will allow the Hawthorne aerospace firm to use a marine terminal for its West Coast rocket recovery operations.
SpaceX will open up the facility on about 6.5 acres at the Port of Long Beach’s Pier T, which was once the site of a U.S. Navy complex, starting Saturday, May 1. The company will use the site’s existing wharf to dock its vessels and offload equipment, according to a statement from port officials.
Representatives for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is great news for our aerospace industry and for the residents of Long Beach,” Garcia said in a statement. “With this addition, Long Beach is firmly the largest space and technology hub on the west coast, and there is still so much room to grow.”
Other aerospace firms that have opened up sites in Long Beach in recent years include Virgin Orbit, RocketLab, Relativity Space and SpinLaunch.
Mario Cordero, the Port of Long Beach’s executive director, said the port is the ideal place to expand the city’s aerospace profile.
“This is a good fit for the Port,” Cordero said in a statement, “as we offer the industry-leading facilities and services that are perfectly suited to SpaceX’s mission.”