The Texas A&M University Board of Regents has dedicated $200 million toward constructing a space institute on 32 acres next to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Texas A&M Space Institute will support applied research, focusing on projects that are deemed feasible from a cost, operations, and manufacturing perspective. It will also support collaboration between 12 Texas A&M colleges and schools already working on over 300 space-related projects, which has brought in $125 million in grants from commercial companies, competitive awards from NASA, and other government agencies.
According to school officials, the Texas A&M Space Institute will continue furthering the state’s role as a leader in space exploration and the economy.
The Texas Legislature has already invested $350 million to create the Texas Space Commission, the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund, and the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium.