CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A coastal Georgia community may soon have rockets blasting off into space from a new launchpad approved Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA's approval of a launch site operator license for Spaceport Camden marks a milestone for the Georgia space project.
According to the company, Spaceport Camden is a "multi-user, vertical lift, commercial launch site on the Atlantic seaboard that will support up to 12 small vehicle launches per year."
Steve Howard, Camden County Administrator and Spaceport Camden executive project lead said this was a "once in a generation opportunity" and added that this is a chance for Georgia to become one of the leaders in the new "space race."
Opponents, however, have gone to court to try to block the county from purchasing land for the spaceport, according to the Associated Press.
Spaceport Camden said they will become the thirteenth licensed spaceport in the United States, but just the third vertical lift facility on the East Coast.
Even with the license, the FAA told the Associated Press that a more comprehensive review would be needed before any rockets can be launched.
Camden County is located on the southeast corner of the state -- just over 300 miles from Atlanta.
Commercial space travel has become increasingly popular over the past couple years with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson sending civilians to space in recent months.