Elon Musk's Hawthorne-based SpaceX is joining the aerospace hub in Long Beach with a new 6.5 acre facility.
The facility will sit on the port of a former U.S. Navy complex site and open May 1, according to statements from the mayor's office. The sublease was approved Monday. SpaceX did not immediately respond to comment.
The aerospace giant that last week won a $2.9 billion NASA contract to work on sending astronauts to the moon will join a roster of space companies in Long Beach including Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab, Boeing, Relativity Space and SpinLaunch.
We are excited to announce and welcome @SpaceX to Long Beach. SpaceX is moving into 6.5 acres at the Port of Long B… https://t.co/PQH2ArCJAu— Robert Garcia (@Robert Garcia)1619475030.0
Long Beach-based aerospace companies comprise about 6,500 jobs, the mayor's office said in the statement.
"We have a booming and growing space and technology economy which is now the largest of any city on the West Coast," Mayor Robert Garcia said in his tweet. "Welcome to Space Beach."
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In a major win for Southern California's aerospace industry, the U.S. Space Force will establish its acquisitions and technology division in the Los Angeles area this summer.
The move, observers said, cements the region – home to SpaceX and Virgin Orbit – as a major force while raising the profile for a myriad of local startups, as the government looks to private industry to bolster the next generation of space travel.
"Southern California — and South Bay in particular — is experiencing its biggest tech renaissance since the Cold War, with record-setting venture investments generating hundreds of new businesses, with over 25 aerospace unicorns operating today," said Van Espahbodi, the co-founder and managing partner of Starburst Aerospace, an accelerator that partners with Raytheon and other big players in the industry. "It's no surprise the formal standing up of Space Systems Command acknowledges the strength and leadership of our region."
The Los Angeles Air Force Base's Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo will become the headquarters of the planned division called the Space Systems Command. The center will be responsible for identifying, prototyping and fielding innovative, space-based solutions to support and meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy, according to the Space Force.
"The heart of technology innovation within the space industry takes place right here in El Segundo, so it comes as no surprise that Space Systems Command has selected our community as its headquarters," said Melanie Stricklan, co-founder and CEO of El Segundo-based Slingshot Aerospace, in a statement.
Slingshot Aerospace has worked closely with the Space and Missiles System Center over the last several years to create technologies that promote space sustainability in order to protect our way of life, she said. Other local companies like SpaceX — which has several contracts with the agency — also have standing relationships.
Los Angeles' aerospace history stretches back to the 1920s, with its peak around World War II. Today, more than 25 aerospace companies — including Rocket Lab, Slingshot Aerospace, Relativity and Virgin Orbit — have established headquarters in the Los Angeles region.
The Space Systems Command is one of three major commands under the U.S. Space Force. It will generate additional missions for the base, including oversight for launch operations out of Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral. It will oversee efforts to develop, acquire, launch and sustain military space systems.
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who co-chairs the California Aerospace Caucus, said the Pentagon's decision reaffirms Southern California's role as an aerospace hub.
"Southern California was already leading the way on aerospace and space innovation, and establishing the Space Systems Command at L.A. AFB will position our region for further growth," LIeu said.
Lieu said he, along with California Republican Congressman Ken Calvert, had requested the Pentagon to consider Los Angeles for the Space Systems Command's home.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said his administration also pushed for the new command center.
"This is a critical investment in California's vital aerospace and defense industries, and it represents a slew of new good-paying jobs as we continue to rebuild our economy better than before," Newsom said in a statement.
In 2003, Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space and Missile Systems Center narrowly escaped closure during a round of military base realignment and closures. The base was spared after a group of politicians and business leaders lobbied to save it.
Judy Kruger, senior director of strategic initiatives at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, said it's too early to tell what the move will mean as far as jobs or procurement opportunities for the region.
"But right now whenever we can position ourselves as leaders in the area of aerospace, it presents us well. It focuses on our core ecosystem here in Los Angeles, our history of space and aerospace," she said. And it's about good paying jobs of the future, she said.
Before the base's Space and Missile Systems Center will be re-designated, Biden will nominate a U.S. Space Force three-star general officer of the SSC, who must be confirmed by the Senate.
In 2019, the Trump administration created the Space Force, the newest branch of the armed services since 1947. It is one of the most visible Trump-era actions that is supported by President Joe Biden.
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Rocket Lab, a Long Beach manufacturer of small rockets used to launch satellites, plans to go public through a SPAC merger that will value the company at $4.1 billion.
The move could position Rocket Lab, which hopes to eventually send people into orbit, as a larger player in space travel.
The deal with Vector Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, is slated to close in the second quarter. Rocket Lab will be traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RKLB.
The merger is expected to generate $750 million in cash — including $320 million from Vector about $470 million of PIPE led by San Francisco-based Vector, BlackRock, Neuberger Berman and other investors.
"This milestone accelerates Rocket Lab's ability to unlock the full potential of space through our launch and spacecraft platforms and catalyzes our ambition to create a new multi-billion-dollar business vertical in space applications," founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a press release.
Since its first orbital launch in 2018, Rocket Lab has conducted 18 launches and delivered 97 rockets into orbit for customers including the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA. Beck told CNBC that the company founded in 2006 was "on a very methodical path to a traditional IPO" before pivoting to a SPAC merger.
On Monday, Rocket Lab also unveiled its new 8-ton payload rocket called Neutron that it hopes will eventually carry astronauts, putting the company in direct competition with Hawthorne-based SpaceX. While its first vehicle, Electron, holds up 300 kg (660 lbs), this second model is designed for larger commercial and government payloads. The two-stage launch vehicle will carry up to 8,000 kg to low Earth orbit and is expected to debut in 2024.
Beck told CNBC that the company aims to ensure the Neutron is "certifiable for human spaceflight."
The capability to carry astronauts could put Rocket in closer competition with SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 was certified for human spaceflight by NASA last year.
Rocket Lab currently operates two launch sites, in New Zealand and Virginia, and is looking to build a new factory to support "large-scale" Neutron manufacturing. That move will usher in hundreds of new jobs, according to the company.
Electron is the second most launched rocket in the U.S. annually and the fourth most launched globally, according to the company.
"Rocket Lab solved small launch with Electron," Beck said in a statement. "Now we're unlocking a new category with Neutron."
Vector's chief investment officer, Alex Slusky, will also join Rocket Lab's board along with Sven Strohband of Khosla Ventures, David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC's Matt Ocko and independent director Mike Griffin.
"Rocket Lab is ideally positioned to continue to capture market share in the rapidly expanding space launch, systems and applications markets," Slusky said in a statement announcing the news.
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