New California Strategic Space Plan Highlights Opportunities and Risks

Virgin Galactic's VMS Eve during its third test flight in March 2009 over the California desert. The vehicle was developed in California but will fly commercially out of New Mexico.

Below are excerpts from the newly-released California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan for 2010-12. The plan highlights the benefits of space to the Golden State’s economy (87,000 jobs and $93 billion economic impact), opportunities for growth (NewSpace), serious risks (competition for overseas, high costs, and an aging workforce), and 27 steps that the California Space Authority will take to address those challenges.

California’s Space Industry

California space enterprise represents a 22 percent share of the $174 billion global space market, and 46 percent of the U.S. space market. It provides 87,000 jobs and has a $93 billion economic impact, as well as an employment impact of 450,000. Space enterprise
helps enrich our lives and provides safety and security.

Opportunities and Risks

The environmental assessment completed as part of Plan development identified numerous opportunities for California space enterprise. The new Administration looks favorably on science and technology and California’s NASA sites stand to benefit. The commercial space landscape is promising, with new applications discovered every day. California’s national security space stakeholders and assets are well positioned, despite the flat budgets expected for this area. Space systems providers, many of whom are in California, anticipate a growing need for space systems and services over the next decade.

But times are challenging. Federal and state budgets have never been under more duress; regulations and the cost of doing business are increasing; the access to venture capital and credit has declined; the industrial base is more fragile than ever before; suppliers are struggling and times are still too uncertain for many businesses to expand. Export licensing controls are still inhibiting international cooperation and global competition. Up to 50 percent of the space workforce is eligible for retirement, and currently there do not exist enough qualified engineers and technicians to replace them.

California space enterprise continues to enjoy strong market share and robust space-related assets (R&D and other infrastructure, skilled workforce, etc.). But global competition from an ever-growing field of players – now Iran, Brazil and Mexico as well as Europe, Russia, the Ukraine, Japan, China and India – coupled with the challenges and costs of doing business in California will no doubt have impacts.

To present a fuller picture of the space enterprise environment over the next few years, it is necessary to consider the impacts of NewSpace (an emerging sector of space featuring new space applications, new players, new customers) and Space Tourism, a now feasible aspect of NewSpace. Enhancing research and development investment in California institutions can positively influence new technologies. Continuing the progress in science and math on the educational front resulting from the development of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Collaborative Action Plan (STEM CAP), an objective in a previous strategic plan, and the development of the California Space Center can shed some light on an otherwise bleak workforce development landscape.

Five Critical Issues

Five critical issues form the foundation for the 2010-2012 Plan. Goals and key strategies to address these issues comprise the body of the Plan:

Need for a Compelling, Comprehensive, Statewide, Broad-Based, Collaborative Communications Strategy to Address Weak Public Appreciation and Policymaker Support for California Space Enterprise

Goal: Build a passionate, broad-based, diverse coalition comprised of the general public as well as policymaker champions that support and enthusiastically advocate for California space enterprise

1. Establish and empower a Space Communications Roundtable – a body of industry (large corporations and suppliers), NewSpace, government and nonprofit California space stakeholders – to coordinate California space enterprise messaging, provide common foundational communications tools, and to leverage synergies of media, public relations activities and public/policymaker education efforts from across the enterprise

2. Enhance California Space Week in Washington D.C., California Space Day in Sacramento

3. Orient new and/or pivotal State/Federal policymakers

4. Assure ongoing high-visibility of space enterprise with regional/State and Federal policymakers in space-strategic areas

5. Monitor stakeholder priorities and concerns, advocating strongly in support of California space enterprise as well as support for business and space-friendly policies; advocating strongly against job or enterprise-threatening policymaker initiatives

6. Launch the California Space Center (CSC) with a strong virtual presence and a high-profile groundbreaking

Growing California/U.S. Competitiveness in a Challenging Business/Economic Climate Goal: Grow California’s share of U.S. and global space markets and increase California’s percentage share of U.S. government space investment

7. Provide greater business-to-business opportunities to California space enterprise

8. Provide previews of coming government, other opportunities

9. Provide “matchmaking opportunities” for strategic introductions of primes and potential contractors of interest to them

10. Open doors for California space enterprise stakeholders to exploit international aerospace business opportunities

11. Connect California space entrepreneurs and small business with innovation funding opportunities

12. Leverage advocacy efforts and existing programs/partners to support California space enterprise in becoming more competitive

Sustaining and Strengthening the California Space Industrial Base, Cornerstone of U.S. Global Space Leadership

Goal: Reinvigorate California’s diverse, quality-driven, world-class space-related industrial base in support of U.S. global leadership

13. Implement a redesigned and re-invigorated supplier initiative to address U.S. global competitiveness and reflect current priorities of corporate and government primes and suppliers

14. Use an annual supplier network forum to bring together primes, suppliers, government and supply chain/network stakeholders for thought-leadership on key industrial base and supplier concerns

15. Seek suppliers to address critical U.S. supplier gaps, thus assuring health of entire California industrial base

16. Promote supplier training opportunities, foster lifelong learning within supplier community to assure sustainability of California space suppliers in an ever-changing global marketplace

17. Develop infrastructure support program for suppliers faced with high-investment new customer equipment/facility demands

18. Ensure elected policymaker understanding of the criticality of the U.S. industrial base and the need to bolster the supplier network nationwide

The Planning Challenges and Investment Risk of Today’s Fast-Changing Environment for Space Companies, Small Business and Entrepreneurs with No Access to Technology Priorities of Key Government and Commercial Customers

Goal: Provide California space companies, small business and entrepreneurs with tools to mitigate risk, build agility and assist in technology planning to assure survivability and competitive advantage, despite today’s uncertain and fast-changing environment

19. Develop and promote resources offering training to help space enterprise survive and thrive

20. Leverage critical space enterprise supplier gaps identified in 21.1 to provide diverse opportunities to companies, small business and entrepreneurs potentially facing program or mission cancellation, policy shifts or significant budget cuts

21. Seek available but difficult-to-find “intel” regarding mid- to long-term technology priorities and technology roadmaps of large-scale commercial and government programs as a foundation for more strategic business and time investment

22. Improve investment risk/planning challenges through strategic advocacy

Attracting and Retaining an Appropriately Trained 21st Century Space Workforce

Goal: Attract and retain an appropriately trained 21st Century workforce

23. Leverage existing California STEM degree programs to support space enterprise recruitment of appropriate space enterprise professionals

24. Recruit more space enterprise technicians, leverage advocacy efforts, exploit outreach opportunities and build and/or support high quality space enterprise-related programs aligned with Career Technical Education or incumbent worker training

25. Identify, celebrate and build upon existing space enterprise high school and elementary programs

26. Collaborate within the space community on space enterprise education, enrichment, recruitment and retention

27. Leverage development of the California Space Center (CSC) to build space career awareness among students, parents, educators and the general public