One only must consider in awe the launch of private citizens and entrepreneurs Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos into space 60 years later. On July 11, Branson entered the edge of outer space in his space craft, the Virgin Galactic — the result of nearly 17 years of development and over a billion of dollars of investment. Then Bezos shot off into space on July 20. Already Bezos has sunk billions into his private space company, Blue Origin, with more investment on its way.
Whereas the U.S. government was once the sole developer, producer, and user of space technologies, today it has evolved into a major domestic and global customer in the growing new space market. Overall, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that the global space market will increase from approximately $385 billion in 2020 to at least $1.5 trillion by 2040.
Widspread U.S. Investment
Aerospace activities are spread across the U.S. with consultancy PwC ranking the top 10 states in 2020 for aerospace manufacturing attractiveness being Georgia, Ohio, Washington, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and California. More important, investment in the U.S. space race is critical, especially given advancements under way in China and Russia.
American space-related companies provide important economic opportunities for communities nationwide. In Tucson, Arizona, for example, Kitt Peak National Observatory and the University of Arizona have been part of every NASA planetary mission since Apollo 11. “They have established Tucson as a space industry hub,” Joe Snell, president and CEO, Sun Corridor Inc., told Area Development. Firms that have recently expanded or located in Tucson range from Lunasonde, a radar satellite remote sensing company, to Paragon Space Development Corp., which develops life support solutions and thermal control technology and has worked on every major human space flight program since 1999.
Vector Launch Inc., a micro-satellite launch company founded in Tucson in 2016, announced last year that it will restart operations and remain in Tucson after a competitive, multi-state process. Space tech company Phantom Space announced in June that it will be opening a new 32,000-square-foot facility in Tucson that will serve as its first rocket factory.
To keep pace with the increasing frequency of commercial space launch and reentry activities, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a safety field office in Houston. Colorado’s aerospace companies play a key role from Kepler to the Hubble space telescope to Dream Chaser and Orion. Colorado Springs is home to 250+ aerospace and defense companies. The state itself is home to the nation’s largest concentration of aerospace employees.
“This unique ecosystem includes international and locally grown companies, and leaders in creating innovative military space technologies and state-of-the-art development centers including Catalyst Campus, the U.S. Air Force Academy, AFWERX, and the Space Foundation,” says Reggie Ash, chief defense development officer at the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC.
Missouri has a long history with aerospace and defense. St. Louis-headquartered EaglePicher Technologies has been in the battery business since 1922. According to Subash Alias, CEO of the Missouri Partnership, “EaglePicher batteries have powered every U.S. spacecraft, manned and unmanned, since 1958, when Explorer 1 became the country’s first satellite.” In 2021, NASA’s Perseverance Rover, powered by EaglePicher batteries, landed on Mars.
Other important Missouri-based space-related companies include St. Louis’s McDonnell Douglas, which merged with the Boeing Company in 1997 and built the Mercury space capsules for NASA. The company deciphered and interpreted the data gathered by NASA’s Perseverance Rover.
“At least 39 companies from Missouri are among the roughly 3,800 suppliers nationwide that will equip NASA’s latest Orion mission, Artemis 1,” says Alias. The space agency plans to return to the moon by 2024 and embark on long-term lunar exploration by 2028.
The Growing Space Market
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Lunasonde
Tuson, AZ
Paragon Space Development Corp.Firms that have recently expanded or located in Tucson include Lunasonde, a radar satellite remote sensing company, and Paragon Space Development Corp., which develops life support solutions and thermal control technology.
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Vector Launch Inc.
Tuson, AZVector Launch Inc., a micro-satellite launch company founded in Tucson in 2016, announced last year that it will restart operations and remain in Tucson after a competitive, multi-state process.
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Phantom Space
Tuson, AZSpace tech company Phantom Space announced in June that it will be opening a new 32,000-square-foot facility in Tucson that will serve as its first rocket factory.
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Kepler
Colorado Springs, CO
Hubble space telescope
Dream Chaser
(these are NASA developments – not specific companies)Colorado Springs is home to 250+ aerospace and defense companies.
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Catalyst Campus
Colorado Springs, CO
U.S. Air Force Academy
AFWERX (this is a program of the Air Force Academy)
Space FoundationColorado’s unique ecosystem includes leaders in creating innovative military space technologies and state-of-the-art development centers including Catalyst Campus, the U.S. Air Force Academy AFWERX, and the Space Foundation.
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EaglePicher Technologies
St Louis, MOSt. Louis-headquartered EaglePicher Technologies has been in the battery business since 1922.
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McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing Co.)
St Louis, MOMissouri-based space-related companies include St. Louis’s McDonnell Douglas, which merged with the Boeing Company in 1997 and built the Mercury space capsules for NASA.
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NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC)
St Louis, MOTexas has long been associated with space starting with NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston.
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SpaceX
McGregor, TXHeadquartered in Hawthorne, California, SpaceX located its rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas, nearly two decades ago.
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Spaceport America
Sierra County, NMVirgin Galactic is Spaceport America’s anchor tenant. Other tenants include AeroVironment/HAPSMobile, UP Aerospace, and SpinLaunch.
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Space Coast
FloridaFlorida has experienced a big boost in privatized aerospace activity, much of which is focused on the Space Coast around the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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Lockheed Martin
Titusville, FLLockheed Martin is using advanced manufacturing capabilities and digital-first technologies at the STAR Center in Titusville, Florida, to design and deliver the Orion spacecraft that will send astronauts to explore the Moon and eventually Mars.
Texas has long been associated with space starting with NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. To keep pace with the increasing frequency of commercial space launch and reentry activities, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a safety field office in Houston to increase its oversight of commercial space operations in Texas and New Mexico.
“From this location, FAA inspectors will be able to more effectively and efficiently monitor the ongoing testing programs and commercial space tourism operations of SpaceX and Blue Origin in Texas and Virgin Galactic in New Mexico -— along with others in the region,” the FAA said in a press release.
Central Texas has gained notoriety thanks to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer, space transportation services, and communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX located its rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas, nearly two decades ago. Today that facility sits on some 4,300 acres.
In mid-July, Musk announced on Twitter plans to break ground on a second factory in McGregor for its Raptor 2 engines and that he planned to produce 800–1,000 engines there a year.
All eyes turned to Sierra County, New Mexico, on July 11 when Virgin Galactic launched from Spaceport America carrying English business magnate Richard Branson. Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. It is owned and managed by the state’s New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA), which also designed and built the facility. Virgin Galactic is its anchor tenant. Other tenants include AeroVironment/HAPSMobile, UP Aerospace, and SpinLaunch.
Spaceport America spokesperson Alice Carruth explained to Area Development that NMSA chose to locate Spaceport America in Sierra County because it is remote, unpopulated, and offers great weather for launch. “It is adjacent to White Sands Missile Range, which provides access to 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, and can provide services like telemetry, radar, optical tracking, and weather forecasting,” she adds.
More Privatized Aerospace Activity
Florida has experienced a big boost in privatized aerospace activity ever since the U.S. government ended the space shuttle program. Much is focused on the Space Coast around the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where NASA announced the development of the next generation Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).
“The opening of Lockheed Martin’s ‘factory of the future’ in Titusville is an excellent example of the long-game of economic development and the direct result of a successful EDC strategic capture plan for the Crew exploration vehicle, which became Orion,” Lynda L. Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast told us. Lockheed Martin currently assembles the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I and II Moon missions at the Operations and Checkout facility (O&C) at the Kennedy Space Center. The addition of the Spacecraft, Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center provides much-needed space for the new production phase of Orion, allowing future Orion spacecraft — starting with the Artemis III mission — to be built faster.
“The STAR Center is the centerpiece of our commitment to build sustainable and affordable capabilities for NASA to send astronauts to explore the Moon and eventually Mars,” says Lisa Callahan, Commercial Civil Space vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Space. “We are using advanced manufacturing capabilities and digital-first technologies to speed production and improve quality to get Orion from factory to space faster than ever before.”
No doubt the U.S. space race will spawn a host of other activities across the nation going forward. The U.S. cannot afford to lag behind given keen government-sponsored activities in China and Russia. Private investment is making a difference.