U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced Monday that the department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $1.2 million to the University of Texas at Brownsville to help build a high-tech business incubator that will spur new business development associated with the region’s growing space industry.
“The Obama Administration and the Commerce Department are committed to strengthening American innovation, which helps keep us competitive in the 21st century economy,” Pritzker said.
The facility is meant to partner with higher education, research, economic development, and commercialization organizations to make the Lower Rio Grande Valley region more competitive in the emerging space exploration industry.
The announcement came as Gov. Rick Perry was in Brownsville helping break ground on the SpaceX Commercial Launch Facility near Boca Chica Beach, which will launch commercial satellites into orbit. Space X announced last month that it will construct a spaceport in South Texas near Brownsville. The Spacecraft Tracking and Astrophysical Research into Gigahertz Astronomical Transient Emission (STARGATE) complex will be the world’s first commercial launch complex designed specifically for orbital missions.
The White House also announced that the EDA is awarding $1.2 million to the city of Pharr, Texas, for the construction of an international trade center that will serve as a focal point for business and trade in the border region.
EDA’s investment will assist in the construction of a 15,000 square foot facility that will be used for job training and business opportunities on the U.S.-Mexico border. The new facility will serve as a trade and commerce training center, as well as a local disaster resource center that will be equipped with redundant power and communications systems in order to mitigate the disruption to commerce in the region in the event of a natural disaster.