A new era on the Space Coast

The mission also is expected to be a harbinger of the next generation of space activity at Cape Canaveral.

Ray Lugo, director of the University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Institute, said the return of human spaceflight will unlock the potential of the growing commercial sector. As the profile of the launches and the cadence increases, it could open up the Cape to being more than just a launch site, said Lugo, who previously served as deputy program manager of the Launch Services Program at KSC.

“What does it do from standpoint of these businesses? [Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’] Blue Origin made a decision to invest in Brevard County to build their rocket,” Lugo said. “At some point in time, does SpaceX look at bringing a manufacturing footprint to Brevard County or the area?”

The launches, from the demo tests to the crewed missions, will again put the eyes of the world on the Space Coast, said Emily Carney, a St. Petersburgbased author, blogger and founder of the popular Facebook group, Space Hipsters.

“Hopefully it will reinvigorate the area, it will bring more tourism to the area, and I think it will hopefully bring more jobs to the area,” Carney said. “The hotels will have people in them, the restaurants.”

And, like the lunar Apollo missions and the space shuttle program before them, crewed launches could capture the imagination of the next generation of people interested in spaceflight.

“The first launch is the hook,” Carney said.