Could California be the new Space Coast?
Early rising Californians got a glimpse of NASA's InSight mission to Mars earlier this month when the spacecraft spectacularly blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force base at 4:05 a.m. Anyone who decided to sleep in, though, need not fret — The Atlantic reports that California is well on its way to being America's new Space Coast.
For one thing, the industry is returning. While "southern California as we know it would not exist without aerospace," in the words of historian Peter Westwick, "the city's hidden history is now waking up," The Atlantic writes. Of course there is Elon Musk's SpaceX, but there is also the center at Vandenberg and the Mojave Air and Space Port north of Los Angeles.
For another, the technology has evolved so that launching rockets from the Pacific Coast actually makes sense:
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As The Atlantic concludes, "more rockets will be coming." Read more about southern California's transformation here.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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