The way-stop community of Van Horn, seen here from the top of the Hotel El Capitan, has a population of just over 2,000.
It was not until 2005 that Bezos identified himself. Without warning, he walked into the office of the Van Horn newspaper and gave his first interview about the launch site, saying he was drawn to West Texas in part because of his childhood experiences on his grandfather’s South Texas ranch. In the 10 years since, he’s made few public remarks and given even fewer interviews about his private space venture.
This communication gap has frustrated the locals, particularly those who hoped Blue Origin was the key to the region’s economic future. Will Blue Origin pack up and leave once it has enough successful test launches? Or is it invested for the long haul?
Mayor Humphries had often wondered if the company might decide that Cape Canaveral, Fla. — the favored launch site of private and government space ventures — is a better fit. And in September, Blue Origin formally announced plans to build and launch rockets there.
“I know exactly what you can find out by going on Bing or Google and doing a search,” Humphries said. “Nobody knows anything about them except what they put in the paper and what’s on their website.”
Culberson County Judge Carlos Urias had a long wish list of things he hoped Blue Origin would help pay for — a new school building, a better convention center, a new jail and even improvements to the airport. He said Blue Origin hasn’t made the same promises SpaceX has made to Brownsville.
The Van Horn Advocate, a local newspaper where Jeff Bezos first stated his intentions with Blue Origin.
