Blue Origin Announces $600-M Florida Expansion to Boost Rocket Manufacturing

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday announced a $600 million expansion of Blue Origin’s Rocket Park campus in Cape Canaveral.

The new 830,000-square-foot upper-stage manufacturing facility is expected to support 500 aerospace jobs, with an average salary of more than $98,000. (Photo: Blue Origin Facebook)

The expansion comes as Blue Origin rival SpaceX continues to scale its operations and pursue new commercial space initiatives, according to reporting attributed to Reuters journalist Juby Babu.

The new 830,000-square-foot upper-stage manufacturing facility is expected to support 500 aerospace jobs, with an average salary of more than $98,000.

“Project Horizon is the latest and most ambitious chapter in Blue Origin’s decade-long commitment to Florida,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a statement.

Since 2015, Blue Origin has expanded significantly in Florida, employing thousands of workers and investing heavily in its supply chain.

The project will receive support through the Spaceport Improvement Program, a partnership between Space Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation, which has helped fund infrastructure at Launch Complex 36.

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is one of several companies operating rocket launch and manufacturing facilities in Florida. However, it is not the only company manufacturing and launching rockets in the state, as SpaceX and United Launch Alliance also conduct major operations there.

In April, federal aviation regulators required Blue Origin to investigate an upper-stage anomaly involving its New Glenn rocket following a Florida launch attempt.