Space Investor and Entrepreneur Invites Students to film SpaceX Rocket Launch. Local Lompoc Residents Wish City Would Work With Them To Develop Eva Blaisdell’s Vision For a California Space Center.
SpaceX successfully initiated one of the greatest “tech upgrades” in human history. SpaceX founder Elon Musk is working with Iridium Satellites to build a high-speed, low-latency satellite system that will circle the entire planet with internet capabilities. On January 14th, a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket launched the first 10 of 70 Iridium Satellites to be sent into orbit this year. The low orbiting satellites will span the entire globe at high speeds, improving global communication and data networks. Some countries will be able to receive their first ever internet signals. After deploying the satellites into orbit, the Falcon 9 rocket landed safely back onto a platform in the Pacific Ocean for reuse, a major accomplishment in SpaceX’s quest to create commercial space travel.
Space investor and entrepreneur Eva Blaisdell invited me to watch and film the launch with her Sony affiliates and close local Lompoc friends. I met Ms. Blaisdell on New Year’s Eve at the Four Seasons hotel. She is fighting to develop a California Space Center at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc. Her vision is to build an educational space media center that will globally broadcast SpaceX missions with virtual reality and drone technologies. Since discovering the land in 2012, she has dedicated her days to inspire the Lompoc youth through entrepreneurship and space exploration. Despite presenting a full business model that included the proper investment backing, benefits for the community, and openness for negotiation, Lompoc City Officials denied her proposal last year.
Eva and I on New Years in Montecito
Although we could only gain access to a distant field for filming, we go to see beforehand how Sony would film future space concerts and virtual reality developments for the California Space Center. I spoke with Lompoc High School teacher Sue Coupland and student Frank Aragon. They told me about how they wish their city would work with Eva to take full advantage of having NASA and SpaceX rocket launches in their town. Ms. Blaisdell believes that the, “large scale exposure of SpaceX will bring massive value in revenue and resources to Lompoc. Such revenues can rebuild the Lompoc community and establish a powerful industry for central California.”
Most importantly, Eva sees the center as the only real initiative aimed at by bringing upper level jobs and education to the Lompoc area. The California Space Center intends to bring in high level jobs as well as four year university classes to an area devoid of both. Many unfair speculations have been made in media considering Eva’s credibility as a business woman. Despite the best efforts of Lompoc to shut down her vision, Ms. Blaisdell continues to fight for what she knows is an incredible opportunity to empower a struggling Lompoc community.
She calls her vision for the center, “Space Valley: Silicon Valley’s innovation combined with Hollywood entertainment. A showplace for next media, film and technology, with the prospect to attract, inspire and entertain visitors, creators, artists influencers, and investors from all over the world.”
Eva continues to fight for the people of Lompoc to bring a California Space Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base. As more people discovery the truth behind her story, she continues to gain support within the space and business community.
