The City of Paso Robles is making strides in its plan to build a spaceport. Since KSBY last reported on the development in February, the project is now halfway through the application process.
“It will definitely change the whole Central Coast,” said Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon.
“Today, there are 14 commercial spaceports in the United States," said Paso Robles Economic Development Director Paul Sloan. "There's only one on the West Coast, it's out in the Mojave, and we are looking to get a spaceport license to operate here.”
Sloan says that the project now has the support of both California senators, making the project more tangible than ever.
He says that the half-million-dollar federal grant for the project, which KSBY reported on last August, has been used to work on the detailed process of applying for spaceport licensing from the FAA.
Once approved, the port would then be used for research and horizontal launches.
Different from the vertical rocket launches that take place at the nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base, horizontal launches wouldn’t require significant airport construction.
“If we were to get a license and have a space plane company operating out of Paso, what you would see standing out at the airport would be like a small jet taking off and landing," Sloan explained. "We already have the infrastructure. We don't need to build something for it."
However, it could bring change to the Paso Robles community and economy.
"[It] gives people a chance to have businesses and jobs here that pay well and be able to stay here on the Central Coast, and that's really what our focus is," Sloan said.
He says they hope to not only employ engineers, but also welders, machinists, and maintenance technicians.
Sloan says this spaceport is especially unique because it’s in conjunction with Cal Poly and will be the only one that is education-focused.
“We are the only ones that are specifically working on training the workforce,” Sloan said.
“We need to have higher-paying tech jobs in Paso Robles. Paso Robles city has designated land use around the airport for those very things, which is huge," Hamon said. "When you have an opportunity, you need to have the land to be able to build, and we have that.”
The city is expecting to get its official spaceport license by early 2027.
