California, the largest space enterprise state in the nation, has brought countless of innovations to the industry, from developing and designing the International Space Station and Apollo programs, to creating the the nation’s first launch vehicles and the world’s first communication satellite. And now, a $220 million space center to be built next to Vandenberg Air Force Base also promises to bring the Central Coast to the forefront of that space enterprise.

With construction slated to start in June 2010, the California Space Center will be finished in three phases over the next nine years.

An economic impact study by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, emeritus finance professor Ken Reiner estimates that the center will create almost 3,000 jobs total and generate $2.37 billion in economic activity for the region over a 12-year period.

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