Aerojet Rocketdyne broke Puget Sound into the space business 50 years ago. The company has been making rocket engines for NASA ever since. If you can think of a manned mission to space, Aerojet engines are on it.
Today, Aerojet Rocketdyne isn’t alone among Washington companies doing business in space. Some other names are familiar, and others are new like Spaceflight Industries, Stratolaunch, and Blue Origin.
“We’ve got to be future looking, be long time thinkers,” said Democratic Representative Suzan DelBene, whose congressional district includes Aerojet in Redmond.
DelBene, a former Microsoft executive, says the state’s education system as the space industry continues to look to hire people with needed skills. Skills in engineering as well as skills that don’t require a four-year college degree.
“We have all the pieces here in our region, it’s just to make sure we connect those together,” said DelBene.
Education was one of the key topics discussed at an industry roundtable with Washington companies involved in space, along with the University of Washington, Washington State University, the Aerospace Futures Alliance, and Washington State Space Coalition.
Washington Secretary of Commerce Brian Bonlender moderated Friday's panel.
Also at the table was Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democrats number two ranking member in Congress. Hoyer has been touring the country looking at supporting domestic industries under the Make it in America banner.
“One of the themes that’s very common around the country is we’ve got to have trained people,” said Hoyer. “We’ve got to have the people who have the skills to do the jobs that we need.”
During the roundtable, Hoyer cited a skills shortage as a reason why so many jobs in the booming economy go unfilled.
But Washington’s leaders say there’s more. One missing element on the space front is a NASA presence in the state.
For example, Aerojet Rocketdyne would like access to a large chamber that could simulate space, including being able to draw a vacuum and simulate the extreme heat and cold above the atmosphere.
Aerojet has smaller chambers and says such a large research center which would also couple back to educational efforts.
“Whether it’s an engine or a solar panel, anything that would help in one of these larger space endeavors that we want to do,” said Ken Young, Space Systems General Manager for Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond.
Commerce’s Bonlender says that’s something the state is working on.
“Those sorts of services and capabilities exist elsewhere, yet we have a critical mass of companies here.”
Right now, Washington State’s space industry employs about 6,000 people.
