Future of aerospace blasts off in the Golden State, as Governor Newsom visits Space Beach
At “Space Beach,” Governor Newsom toured Rocket Lab, a leading California aerospace company that manufactures designs and manufactures orbital rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and other components. Rocket Lab was founded in 2006 in New Zealand, established its U.S. operations in Los Angeles in 2013, and has been headquartered in Long Beach since 2020 to accommodate its growing workforce. Its Electron rocket has flown more than 90 missions, making it the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket, and its larger, reusable Neutron rocket is expected to make its first flight in 2027. The company is distinctly situated in Southern California, tapping into the region’s aerospace talent base, infrastructure, port access, and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
B-roll from Governor Newsom’s visit can be viewed here.
In 2019, Rocket Lab received a $5 million CalCompetes tax credit from the Newsom administration in exchange for creating 147 full-time jobs and investing $25 million in Long Beach and Huntington Beach. These investments reinforce California’s commitment to emerging sectors, job creation, and the state’s overall economic future.
The Golden State’s innovation ecosystem fuels the future
With diverse aerospace and technology companies, world-class research institutions, and a skilled workforce, the Golden State is driving innovation in advanced technologies. California’s Space Economy spans launch, testing, R&D, tracking and communications, and defense infrastructure across every region of the state.
🚀 The Golden State is home to one-third of the nation’s space technology companies and has more aerospace engineers and defense personnel than any other state.
🚀 California ranks #1 in corporate aerospace R&D spending and #1 in space-technology venture capital. Together, these reflect the nation’s highest concentration of aerospace talent, with California alone accounting for roughly 40% of all U.S. space-technology patents.
🚀 A higher education engine—California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC)—forms the nation’s most productive public pipeline for aerospace talent. Alongside private institutions such as Stanford, USC, and Caltech, this engine helps California produce more aerospace engineers than anywhere in the U.S.
🚀 California has over 96,000 aerospace manufacturing jobs, more than any other state.
🚀 More than 500 companies and 16,000 workers in the state contributed to NASA’s Artemis program, including Artemis II, the United States’ first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.
🚀 California receives about $3 billion a year in NASA science funding, the most of any state, and 28% of all NASA research and development.
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