HUTTO — The city could be on the launchpad of a revitalized space race depending on whether a mystery project turns out to be the home of a new Blue Origin facility.
Speculation was ignited this week after a story published in the Austin Business Journal suggested a tie between the Hutto Economic Development Corp.’s Project Blue Hub and the Blue Origin Facility.
Blue Origin, a space technology and rocket company and a rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, also the founder of Amazon.
An EDC board member declined to confirm any ties to Blue Origin, and a city spokesperson said no additional information could be provided at this time.
EDC board members generally sign nondisclosure agreements during the negotiation phase of large developments.
Spokespersons for Blue Origin and Williamson County’s Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. had not responded to media requests by press time.
Details on Project Blue Hub, including confirmation of the company and the incentives offered, likely will not be made public until the agreements have been finalized and any zoning requests or proposals go to City Council for approval.
At its May 11 meeting, EDC Executive Director Cheney Gamboa said Project Blue Hub is a proposed 1.3 million-squarefoot manufacturing, research and development, warehouse and logistics project that could bring more than 2,000 jobs to Hutto in the next five years.
Full-time employees would earn an average salary of $88,000. Cheney said the capital investment is estimated at $650 million.
Gamboa gave the information as part of a public hearing to consider offering incentives to the unnamed Project Blue Hub developer. No members of the public spoke during the hearing and no information on the potential incentives was provided.
The board met in executive session to discuss an economic development performance agreement tied to the incentives, but no action was taken.
In March 2025, the Williamson County Commissioners Court approved the creation of the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. in partnership with Burnet County.
The CTSDC was created to focus on infrastructure and development in the fields of specialized launch and landing facilities for spacecraft, rockets and satellites.
The agency has been branding U.S. 183 from Liberty Hill to Cedar Park as the area’s space corridor, with Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park and National Aero Stands in Leander.
If Blue Origin lifts off in Hutto, that will expand the space corridor across the county.
Industry officials say several cities in the Austin area have thrown their hats into the ring to win the Blue Origin project, which is said to be a manufacturing and logistics center with $1 billion of investment, creating more than 2,000 jobs.
As part of the consideration for its new home, Blue Origin asked cities to offer suggestions for a 20-acre manufacturing facility and 80-acre logistic center both within 15 miles of Interstate 35.
Blue Origin Enterprises LLC, established by Bezos in 2000, has facilities in Kent, Washington; Huntsville, Alabama; and Van Horn. The company is known as a leader in space tourism and has sent several celebrities into space including Michael Strahan, Katy Perry and 90-year-old actor and author William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk in the original “Star Trek.”
Bezos envisions a time when space tourists become space dwellers and space workers, according to the company.
Blue Origin also heavily prioritizes reusability and sustainable practices in the space industry.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global space tourism market was valued at $1.61 billion in 2025. The market is projected to grow from $2.34 billion in 2026 to $46.81 billion by 2034.
