SPI Insights

Leaders in Midland are creating a high-speed aerospace corridor to capitalize on a location bottleneck that is slowing the flow of billions of dollars to the private sector for hypersonic testing and development.

The corridor between Midland International Air and Space Port and Spaceport America in New Mexico is in the planning stages to serve companies conducting point-to-point flights of reusable launch vehicles.

Midland Development Corporation (MDC) directors unanimously approved a contract on August 2 for professional consulting services for airspace modeling in response to requests by 13 vehicle operators for airspace and facilities to conduct a point-to-point test flight of their current generation launch vehicles between the airport and Spaceport America and back.

If all 13 prospects were to locate in the aerospace corridor, they would require an estimated 64 acres to house 651,000 square feet of facility space and 465 employees at a projected investment of $281 million.