How Seattle is becoming a gateway to the final frontier
Jul 21, 2015, 10:48 AM | Updated: 11:43 am
The Canadarm 2 reaches out to capture the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft and prepare it to be pulled into its port on the International Space Station Friday April 17, 2015. The Canadarm2 robotic arm will maneuver Dragon to its installation position at the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module where it will reside for the next five weeks. (AP Photo/NASA)
(AP Photo/NASA)
Space, the final frontier, may have only been something relegated to TV and films in the past. But what was once science fiction is quickly becoming science fact. And the Seattle area is at the forefront.
Though it might seem like a recent development, Seattle’s legacy in the space scene actually goes back nearly 50 years, said Alex Pietsch, the director aerospace for the State of Washington.
“The first company that was engaged in space was called Rocket Research in Redmond and it is now Aerojet Rocketdyne, and of course Boeing developing the lunar buggy that rolled across the surface of the moon,” Pietsch said.
But things have changed dramatically in recent years, in part fueled by tech titans such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame. Both are pouring millions, if not billions, to make commercial space travel and business a reality.
Bezos’ company Blue Origin is among several aiming to transport adventure travelers into low earth orbit with his New Shepard rocket system, along with developing other space applications.
The company has even begun taking sign-ups to get on the list for space flights, although they’re still years away.
“I think that’s what’s so fun about this industry. Space exploration has been dominated by NASA and governments for so long and now we are seeing private companies try to find ways to make money in space and we are going to see a lot of innovation, a lot of creativity,” he said.
And it’s not just the billionaires shooting for the stars.
University of Washington aerospace engineering grad Jason Andrews is among a handful of pioneers who have been working on space solutions for more than two decades.
“The study show that before the age of 10, people dream of two things: being an astronaut and dinosaurs,” Andrews said. “Most of us lose those desires and we go off to real jobs, but some of us, I guess, hold on to that dream.”
Andrews heads Spaceflight Systems, a leader in the nascent Seattle space scene.
“We are enabling this market, first, by launching small satellites,” he said. “We are moving up markets to launch bigger satellites, and at some point people traveling to and from space is going to be a big market and we plan to be a part of that.”
So why is Seattle poised to become the center of the new space race? Andrews credits the unique combination of experience and talent in the area.
“If you really look at commercial space, it’s about production of aerospace hardware, and lots and lots of software,” Andrews said. “Ultimately, we have both of those resources here in the Northwest between the old Boeing base and the like of Amazon and Microsoft.”
Like those businesses, there’s a high demand for skilled talent. And the battle is on to lure it to the Puget Sound Region.
That’s why the industry has formed the Washington Space Coalition — a consortium of about 35 companies partnering to raise the profile of the state in the space industry.
Just recently, the state landed the industry-leading NewsSpace Conference — a huge gathering of space businesses that has previously called the Silicon Valley home.
Andrews says it underscores Seattle’s place in space, citing, as an example, the opening of an office in Redmond by Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame.
“Elon Musk, when he got up in January and said, ‘I’m opening an office.’ Their whole premise was, ‘Hey, I’ve been trying to recruit you guys for four years, I gave up and I’m finally coming to you,'” Andrews said. “We kind of laughed because we are down here in Tukwila and part of the reason we are opening an office in Westlake is because we can’t even get great software developers to drive to Tukwila, let alone southern California.”
And with all the money pouring in to the area, Pietsch notes the future is bright for building a dominant new industry here.
“All these companies that are here are growing already,” Pietsch said. “Elon Musk announced his investment in SpaceX Seattle where he plans to employ as many as 1,000 people in the next four or five years.”
Investment and history in Seattle means that the area is quickly forging a gateway to the stars. And if Mr. Spock were still around, he’d probably agree. It’s just logical. Very logical.
