With world powers like the US, China and Russia fighting for dominance in space, the so-called Space Coast of the US – the region in Florida surrounding the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where all NASA-launched manned space flights depart – is making a comeback in a big way.
According to a Saturday report by Stars and Stripes, since the US shuttle program, carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ended seven years ago, the region's unemployment rate has gone from 12 percent to 3.9 percent thanks to new, diverse companies contributing to a revitalized space race.
“It's a great time on the Space Coast,” one employee, who works at a shop by the Kennedy Space Center that sells 50th anniversary Apollo moon landing T-shirts, launch patches and replica astronaut suits, recently told Stars and Stripes. “How could we not have a smile on our faces?”
Many businesses selling space shirts on Brevard County's Space Coast are thriving.
“We've never been busier,” said Merritt Island Space Shirts president Brenda Mulberry stated, adding that the store had more than doubled its business since the end of the shuttle program seven years ago.
Although the end of the shuttle program initially resulted in the loss of over 9,000 jobs, employment is now on the rise, as the Kennedy Space Center diversifies its economy, becoming the prime region where US spacecraft are assembled.
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