Transforming Space: California Continues Legacy as Space Development Epicenter

LOS ANGELES -- In a precursor to what National Space Society (NSS) members can expect to see in 2006, the California Space Authority and the California Space Education and Workforce Institute hosted their first annual space conference at the Los Angeles Airport Sheraton Gateway Hotel this month.

Held at the site of the NSS' 2006 International Space Development Conference, the two-dayTransforming Space: California Innovation, Infrastructure and Intellectual Capital conference drew more than 500 attendees.

During the meeting, panelists shared thoughts on the space roles of California and the country in the 21st Century, with leaders from the space industry, government, military, and academia alongside a strong NSS presence that included society executive director George Whitesides, NSS Governor and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and NSS Advisor Stanley G. Rosen.

The conference--which ended Dec. 2--offered a unique forum to address the latest issues and challenges facing the space enterprise community, as well as how to continue maintaining a strong presence in the state. The Transforming Space meeting highlited California's tremendous accomplishments in the three sectors of space--civil, national security and commercial--as well as in space-related education.

It's only natural for California to finally flex its aerospace muscle, despite the media's premature reporting of the industry's demise in the state and the growth of other "aerospace states" such as Florida, Texas, Colorado, Alabama, Virginia, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Alaska.

Unlike those states, California enjoys a statewide space enterprise community unmatched in the rest of U.S., or the world for that matter. Its end-to-end space capabilities are facilitated by the state's rich mix of intellectual capital, investment in innovation, leading edge technology developments and market savvy. 

California's aerospace and aviation industry accounts for nearly 300,000 employees, $16.1 billion in annual payroll, and $100 billion in annual revenue. Despite the recent exodus of some companies to other states, more than 50% of the nation's aerospace and aviation suppliers are still located in California.

"It is an exciting time for space exploration and I'm glad we can all gather here to discuss the important space policy issues that lie before us," said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-California), who served as and honorary co-chair of the conference alongside Rep. Jane Harman (D-California).

"Some of the most significant ideas, plans and concepts in the American space enterprise were conceived, developed and constructed right here in California," Calvert said.  "As we enter a Second Space Age, I'm confident California will continue this legacy and be at the forefront of space tourism, implementing the President's space exploration vision, and making the necessary investments in education to produce our future workforce."

According to Victoria Bradshaw, secretary of the state's Labor and Workforce Development Agency, California continues to hold the largest share of the world aerospace and aviation market, and the industry continues to play a prominent role in the state's economy.

"Nearly a quarter of the U.S. aerospace and aviation jobs are based in California, representing 24% of the $83 billion annual global space market," Bradshaw said.  "Despite industry downsizing and corporate consolidations that occurred in the 1990's, the Golden State continues to remain the single largest source of specialized firms, technology, exports and advanced college degrees."

Civil space accomplishments focused on the three NASA centers that are located in the state: the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Ames Research Center in San Jose and Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. 

Collectively, the three centers continue to make significant contributions to the nation's space exploration activities, covering a broad spectrum that includes--but is not limited to--s nanotechnology, planetary research and launch vehicle testing. The centers contribute more than $4.3 billion to the state's economy and employ more than 7,000 people in high-tech, high wage jobs.

National security space issues were represented by the state's seven military bases with significant space assets, including the Space and Missile Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base, the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base and the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake.

With a 50-year legacy of mission success and innovative development of critical U.S. space assets such as MILSATCOM, Global Positioning Satellite and Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, SMC leads numerous transformation-related initiatives for the U.S. Air Force. SMC procures all of the Air Force's space hardware and services through contracts worth $9 billion each year and employs more than 36,000 military personnel and civil servants as well as more than 2,100 contractors.

Not to be outdone, commercial space accomplishments covered the recent successes of companies such as Scaled Composites in Mojave and SpaceDev in San Diego, who together won the Ansari X Prize via the flights of SpaceShipOne in 2004.  Additionally, the Transforming Space conference covered groundbreaking events, such as the upcoming maiden flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, a creation of Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in El Segundo.  It is estimated by California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency that commercial space companies contribute more than $83 billion to the state's economy and provide more than 250,000 jobs.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his administration recognize the economic value of space enterprise to California," said Sunne Wright McPeak, the state's secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.  "However, California's future economic opportunities associated with successful inland spaceports cannot be taken for granted.  We are dedicated to remaining a preferred location and partner for investment by space enterprise companies."

Wright-McPeak added that her agency and the state's Labor and Workforce Development Agency remain committed to ensuring that the design and manufacturing of the next generation of spacelift vehicles--including the replacement Crew Exploration Vehicle for the expected 2010 retirement of the space shuttle fleet--locates and remains in California.

Finally, space-related education discussions included the contributions of non-profit organizations such as the Chabot Science Center in Oakland, the Aerospace Institute in Los Angeles and all of the state's colleges and universities. Recent successes include the University of California Riverside's Bourns School of Engineering and the CubeSat program, which included students from Stanford University and California Polytechnic's Technical Institute who designed, built and launched payloads into orbit.

The baby boomer generation was inspired by the nation's successful efforts to first land humans on the moon. But as its numbers prepare to retire, there is a projected lack of engineers and scientists to replace them. With emerging spacefaring nations such as China, Japan, Brazil and India graduating many times the numbers of engineers that are graduating in the U.S., these ongoing efforts to educate and train the space workforce of the future is vital to assure continued access to space.

NOTE: The views of this article are the author's and do not reflect the policies of the National Space Society.

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