According to data from the Orlando Business Journal, major space employers like Blue Origin and SpaceX, as well as their suppliers, have added 5,000 new employees over the past year. The space-based economy in the region has seen a rise in employment from 37,000 to more than 42,000 in just one year.
This is in large part to Central Florida and Florida’s Space Coast morphing into a major space manufacturing center, as in the building of rockets and other space-based products. Just 20 years ago, Florida’s Space Coast was still simply a launch center with little manufacturing of the products launched there. The future is bright as suppliers to the largest space firms are landing in the region at a rate never before seen.
Here is the latest from Florida’s Space Coast:
SpaceX acquires 400 acres at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to bring Starship launch system to Florida
SpaceX is proposing to develop about 400 acres at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to create a larger industrial campus to support production, testing and refurbishment of its Starship launch system. Most if not all Starship launches have been made near Brownsville, Texas to date.
SpaceX also announced a $100 billion launch center on the Louisiana coast in Vermillion Parish back in the summer. SpaceX’s operations on the Florida Space Coast already manufacture launch infrastructure and processes reusable rocket hardware there.
With the new expansion, SpaceX would manufacture rocket components and refurbish Starship in addition to launches. At buildout, SpaceX expects to employ more than 3,000 on the Florida Space Coast.
Blue Origin expands Florida Space Coast footprint for New Glenn rockets
Jeff Bezo’s aerospace firm, Blue Origin, is adding to its industrial footprint in Titusville, Fla. The expansion comes as Blue Origin continues to repair its primary launch infrastructure after a prelaunch pad explosion in May of 2026. In addition, the space company is building a new, super-heavy-class rocket facility at Cape Canaveral.
