CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Voters in Camden County halted the purchase of land to build a spaceport in Camden County in Tuesday's referendum election.
According to the unofficial election results, 4,168 (72.12%) people voted to halt the spaceport, while 1,611 (27.88%) people voted for the purchase of the land for the spaceport.
The Spaceport Camden project has been in the works since 2015. It would be the thirteenth licensed spaceport in the nation and the third vertical lift facility on the East Coast. The Federal Aviation Administration approved an operator's license for the facility on the condition that the county acquires the former industrial site where the facility is planned.
So far, the county has spent around $10 million on the project.
Supporters said the spaceport would create jobs and diversify the county's economy.
Opponents pointed out that the land is contaminated by past industrial sites that have been housed there in the past, including a former rocket fuel facility.
Additionally, there were concerns about the proposed proximity to the Cumberland Island National Seashore, directly over the flight path of the rockets that would be launched.