SpaceX founder Elon Musk says his company expects to spend $100 million in South Texas over the next three to four years on the first commercial orbital spaceport.
Musk was joined Monday by Gov. Rick Perry and other officials as SpaceX broke ground at the state's southernmost tip.
The ceremony marked the start of construction of the $85 million site at Boca Chica Beach, east of Brownsville, where commercial satellites will be launched.
Perry is providing $2.3 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund toward the project and another $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund to pay for infrastructure.
California-based SpaceX is expected to create 300 jobs at the site. The company already has a rocket testing facility in McGregor in Central Texas that employs 250 people.