Fresh off an announcement of a research and development center in Texas for future spaceplane projects, California-based XCOR Aerospace won $182,000 worth of economic incentives for a manufacturing and operations center at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Brevard County Commission approved the deal, which adds local funding to nearly $1 million of state incentives under the Florida Qualified Target Tax Refund Program.
XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson said no decision has been made about whether to set up a planned East Coast site in Florida.
“There are other people in the running,” Nelson told Space News. “We’re in the process of doing an evaluation of East Coast operational sites, as well as potential manufacturing locations.”
The proposed site, to be located at the Shuttle Landing Facility, would include a hangar, flight operations center, manufacturing and assembly plants.
If XCOR selects Kennedy Space Center, it hopes to have the site open by October 2014 and fill about 150 technical jobs by the end of 2018.
XCOR is developing the two-seater Lynx reusable, suborbital rocket plane, and other space vehicles.
