1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 315 1-3 WHEREAS, Many of the most historic moments in the history 1-4 of space exploration had origins in Texas, and in the 1960s and 1-5 1970s the world watched breathlessly as NASA's Mission Control in 1-6 Houston coordinated the exploration of outer space and the moon; 1-7 Texas continues to be a leader in the development of aerospace 1-8 technology; and 1-9 WHEREAS, The commercial delivery of cargo into orbit is 1-10 the next significant development in this rapidly developing field, 1-11 and according to a report by the Texas Spaceport Consortium, the 1-12 commercial space industry is growing by 15 to 20 percent per year; 1-13 and 1-14 WHEREAS, More than 1,700 satellites will need to be 1-15 launched over the next 10 years to meet the growing demands of 1-16 voice and data communications, radio and television programming, 1-17 navigation, agriculture, surveying and mapping, meteorology, and 1-18 resource exploration; the United States competes for this growing 1-19 commercial launch business with China, Russia, Japan, and the 1-20 European Space Agency; and 1-21 WHEREAS, New aerospace technologies will significantly 1-22 increase the reliability and reduce the cost of deploying space 1-23 vehicles; these new developments include reusable launch vehicles 2-1 (RLVs) that operate from specially designed, airport-type facilities 2-2 called spaceports; and 2-3 WHEREAS, A spaceport facility would create permanent, 2-4 high-paying jobs for Texans, including 4,000 new jobs and $700 2-5 million in direct regional economic impact over seven years, as 2-6 well as several thousand additional indirect jobs; moreover, the 2-7 facility would have the potential to foster education in engineering 2-8 and the sciences and to become another Texas tourist destination; 2-9 and 2-10 WHEREAS, The State of Texas is an ideal location for these 2-11 facilities; three sites, in Brazoria, Kenedy, and Pecos counties, 2-12 have been evaluated and shown to have many of the criteria for the 2-13 establishment of a spaceport, including the ability to launch safely 2-14 to all orbits, wide-open space, moderate climate and stable geology, 2-15 clear landing approaches, limited competition for airspace, good 2-16 infrastructure, and a skilled workforce; and 2-17 WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature created the Texas 2-18 Aerospace Commission in 1988 and charged it with the mission of 2-19 serving the citizens of Texas by bolstering the state's economy 2-20 through development in the fields of space and aviation; and 2-21 WHEREAS, The 76th Texas Legislature authorized local 2-22 governments to create economic development corporations to 2-23 encourage the location of spaceports in Texas; since that time, 2-24 regional organizations have spent more than $500,000 in local funds 2-25 to develop site information, conduct preliminary evaluations, and 2-26 work with launch companies, the state, and the federal government; 3-1 and 3-2 WHEREAS, Many individuals and local communities have 3-3 worked tirelessly to achieve the goal of locating a spaceport in 3-4 Texas, and while they have made significant progress thus far, much 3-5 more work remains to be done; there exists strong competition from 3-6 other states, including Florida, California, New Mexico, Nevada, 3-7 and Virginia, which have provided funding and incentives to lure 3-8 spaceports and space-related industries to their states; now, 3-9 therefore, be it 3-10 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-11 77th Legislature, hereby endorse and support the efforts of the 3-12 Texas Aerospace Commission and the individuals and communities 3-13 involved in the challenging endeavor to bring a spaceport to Texas. 3-14 Brown, Madla, 3-15 Truan 3-16 Armbrister Gallegos Shapiro 3-17 Barrientos Harris Shapleigh 3-18 Bernsen Haywood Sibley 3-19 Bivins Jackson Staples 3-20 Cain Lindsay Van de Putte 3-21 Carona Lucio Wentworth 3-22 Duncan Moncrief West 3-23 Ellis Nelson Whitmire 3-24 Fraser Ogden Zaffirini 3-25 Ratliff, President of the Senate 3-26 ______________________________ _______________________________ 3-27 Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate 3-28 ______________________________ 3-29 Member, Texas Senate 3-30 _______________________________ 3-31 President of the Senate 3-32 I hereby certify that the 3-33 above Resolution was adopted by 4-1 the Senate on February 21, 2001. 4-2 _______________________________ 4-3 Secretary of the Senate