A coastal Georgia lawmaker has introduced legislation that he says could boost Camden County's chances of claiming a piece of the growing commercial space industry.

Space travel isn’t all that far-fetched in this corner of southeast Georgia. In 1960, NASA chose Cape Canaveral over Camden County and Wallop’s Island, Va., as the place to launch the nation’s space program. Five years later, the world’s largest rocket engine was tested here in a 150-foot-deep pit.

Spencer acknowledged that the legislation has had some initial negative reaction locally.

There’s concern, he said, from some residents that they won’t be able to sue if a space flight into their house. But that’s never happened, Spencer said.

The Federal Aviation Administration regulates the facility and each flight, he said.

“We need to do this to be more competitive,” Spencer said.

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