Blue Origin brings space exploration to Texas town

For years the official letterhead for the town of Van Horn, Texas, tucked neatly among the foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains, read simply: "Farming, ranching, mining."

And while there is still some farming and ranching in this Far West Texas community, and a talc mine still operates near the edge of town, there's another booming business in its midst: space exploration.

The sprawling West Texas spaceport of Blue Origin, the company founded by business magnate Jeff Bezos in 2000, is located about 25 miles outside of town of about 1,800 residents on what was once desolate desert ranchland.

On Tuesday, the company plans to launch four people into space from the compound, including Bezos, his brother, Mark, female aviation pioneer Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old Dutchman and last-minute fill-in for the winner of a $28 million charity auction who had a scheduling conflict.

Funk, at age 82, and Daemen will become the oldest and youngest persons in space.

"People are excited. We're excited. It's a big deal for a small community," said Valentina Muro at the Broadway Café along Van Horn's main strip. "It puts your community on the map."

The town, which sprouted up in the late 1800s during the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway, now is mostly an overnight stop for travelers along Interstate 10, which parallels the town's main road, dotted with hotels, restaurants, truck stops and convenience stores.

Van Horn Mayor Becky Brewster says that tourism is the town's biggest driving force.

The town's proximity to Big Bend National Park, the Guadalupe Mountains, an ancient barrier reef that includes the four highest peaks in Texas, and New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns also makes it an ideal pit stop for tourists.

As for the impact that Blue Origin's operations have had on the town, the reaction among locals is mixed.

While employees and contractors have been working at the facility since about 2005, Brewster said it's just been in the last five years or so that workers for Blue Origin have started integrating themselves more into the community.