Richard Branson's new spaceport in New Mexico could have competition from a similar site in Texas, according to an Associated Press report. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, had bought 165,000 acres near El Paso that will be used as a test site and an eventual spaceport. The AP said Bezos has also bought 25 acres south of Seattle that will be used as a site to design and build spacecraft and engines. The site includes a 243,000-square-foot office and warehouse building that is being revamped to accommodate research and assembly areas, plus a 90,000-square-foot rocket-engine test stand surrounded by a 12-foot earthen berm. Staff from Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, will move to the site early in 2006, the AP said.
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