Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) announced on Friday that Blue Origin will expand its Rocket Park campus in Cape Canaveral with a $600 million project aimed at boosting production of parts for the company's heavy-lift New Glenn rocket.

Project Horizon Expands Rocket Park Manufacturing

According to a public press release of the announcement, the expansion, called Project Horizon, will include an estimated 830,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for New Glenn upper stages. Blue Origin said the facility will increase the payload volume and mass the company can deliver to orbit, a key requirement as the Jeff Bezos-owned space venture tries to scale launches from Florida.

The project will receive support through the Spaceport Improvement Program, a partnership between Space Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation. The same program helped fund Blue Origin's new pad at Launch Complex 36. Rocket components built at the expanded Rocket Park site will travel about nine miles southeast to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for liftoff.

New Facility Adds Aerospace Jobs

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp hailed Project Horizon the company's "latest and most ambitious chapter" in Florida. He said Blue Origin has grown its Florida presence since 2015 to nearly 4,000 employees and more than $2.3 billion in spending across 500 state suppliers. The new facility is expected to support 500 aerospace jobs with average salaries above $98,000.

"Florida has created the ideal environment where companies can succeed, scale and keep choosing Florida over and over again—promoting growth that reinforces the state's position a national leader in advanced manufacturing and aviation and aerospace—bolstering Florida's Space Coast and beyond," DeSantis said.

The announcement came as the Federal Aviation Administration cleared Blue Origin to resume New Glenn flights after an upper-stage malfunction in April. Reuters reported last month that the FAA had ordered Blue Origin to investigate after an upper-stage engine issue caused a satellite mission to fail, temporarily grounding New Glenn.

Space Race Pressure Keeps Building

The expansion also lands as rival SpaceX prepares for what could be the largest initial public offering in history, targeting a valuation around $1.75 trillion. Bezos said last week he did not know enough about SpaceX's financials to assess the IPO, but added, "Space is going to be a gigantic industry."

Blue Origin has also advanced its lunar ambitions. Earlier this month, the company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 prototype completed major testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center before an uncrewed lunar test flight tied to future Artemis landings.

Photo Courtesy: Lev Radin on Shutterstock.com