Paso Robles City Council
March 4, 2026

CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES
"The Pass of the Oaks"
Joint City Council
Planning Commission
Airport Commission
Special Meeting Revised Agenda

Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 6:00 PM
Norris Meeting Room - Centennial Park
600 Nickerson Drive
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Residents can livestream the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube, and call (805)865-7276 to provide public comment via phone. The phone line will open just prior to the start of the meeting and remain open throughout the meeting to ensure the opportunity to comment on each item heard by the Council, other than brief reports and announcements by staff or the Council.

Written public comments can be submitted via email to [email protected] prior to 12:00 noon on the day of the Council meeting to be posted as an addendum to the Agenda. If submitting written comments in advance of the meeting, please note the agenda item by number or name. City Council meetings will be livestreamed during the meeting and also available to play later on YouTube by accessing the following link: www.prcity.com/youtube. Any writing or document pertaining to an open session item on this agenda which is distributed to a majority of the City Council after the posting of this agenda will be available for public inspection at the time the subject writing or document is distributed. The writing or document will be available for public review in the City Clerk’s Office, 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles, CA, during normal business hours, and may be posted on the City’s web site at www.prcity.com/meetings.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT Any individual, who because of a disability needs special assistance to attend or participate in this meeting, may request assistance by contacting the City Clerk’s Office (805) 237- 3960. Whenever possible, requests should be made four (4) working days in advance of the meeting.

Pages

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. ROLL CALL
City Council: Councilmember Bausch, Councilmember Beal, Councilmember Gregory, Councilmember Strong, Mayor Hamon
Planning Commission: Commissioner Christensen, Commissioner Marlow, Commissioner Neel, Commissioner Koegler, Commissioner Connally, Commissioner Roden, Chairperson Covarrubias
Airport Commission: Commissioner Azeem, Commissioner Brown, Commissioner Agnew, Commissioner Beck, Commissioner Gipple, Commissioner Wilcox, Chairperson Britton
Joint City Council, Planning Commission, and Airport Commission Special Meeting Agenda March 4, 2026

4. DISCUSSION ITEMS
*1. Consideration of a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Spaceport License for the Paso Robles Municipal Airport
3 - 287
Paul Sloan, Economic Development Manager
CEQA Determination: The City finds that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (c)(2)-(3), 15378.

Recommendation: After receiving and considering input from the Planning Commission and Airport Commission during the joint meeting, it is recommended that the City Council direct staff to proceed with preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit an agreement with a firm that is qualified to complete all remaining steps necessary for preparation and submittal of the application for a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Spaceport License; and to direct staff to return to the City Council at a future meeting with the results of the RFP process and a recommended agreement for Council’s consideration and possible approval.

5. ADJOURNMENT
Joint City Council, Planning Commission, and Airport Commission Special Meeting Agenda March 4, 2026 Page 2 of 287 Council, Planning Commission, and
Airport Commission Agenda Report
From: Paul Sloan, Economic Development Manager
Subject: Consideration of a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Spaceport License for the Paso Robles Municipal Airport
CEQA Determination: The City finds that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (c)(2)-(3), 15378.

Date: March 4, 2026
Facts

1. Adopted City Council Goals for fiscal years 2022-24 and 2024-26 specified working to obtain an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commercial Spaceport License for the Paso Robles Municipal Airport and developing a Technology Corridor to diversify the local economy and attract higherpaying, head of household jobs.

2. In March 2022, Tartaglia Engineering, a long-standing engineering firm of record for the airport, presented the results of a Preliminary Technical Review on the feasibility of developing a commercial spaceport operation at the Paso Robles Airport. Tartaglia Engineering determined that establishing a licensed Spaceport operation at Paso Robles Airport is feasible. (Attachment 1)

3. In 2023, the City partnered with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, (Cal Poly) to conduct a study on Diversifying a Local Economy and Workforce Development Opportunities with a City-Owned Spaceport (Attachment 2), and to study the Business Development Ecosystem of a potential Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park. (Attachment 3)

4. The City also retained the services of Cal Poly staff and student interns to prepare initial portions of the application for an FAA Part 420 Commercial Spaceport License for Horizontal Launch using existing conventional runways in addition to General Aviation activities at the Paso Robles Airport.

5. In 2024, the City retained the professional services of Tartaglia Engineering and Integrated Launch Solutions (ILS) to prepare advanced portions of the application for an FAA Part 420 Commercial Spaceport License requiring specialized expertise.

6. The FAA informed the City that the Paso Robles Airport Master Plan must be updated prior to submitting an application for a Part 420 Commercial Spaceport License.

7. Grant funding for the Airport Master Plan Update was secured and the update process begun in March of 2025 with Coffman Associates, the City’s contracted airport planning consultants. The update process is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.

8. The City is pursuing parallel development tracks with one track for obtaining the FAA Spaceport License and the other track to begin developing the Technology Corridor. In support of the latter, the City renovated a remote area of the airport to create a test site for rocket and jet engine propulsion systems. To date, three aerospace engineering firms and their various customers as well as Cal Poly engineering students utilize the test site.

9. The Paso Robles Spaceport project is unique among licensed spaceports due to the focus on K-20 education and workforce development in partnership with local education partners.

10. In 2025, a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant-funded space technology conference was held by Cal Poly in Paso Robles. The conference had attendees from seven states and six universities. (Attachment 4)

11. In 2025, Cal Poly was awarded a $1 million federal appropriation to establish the Paso Robles Spaceport Training and Research Center (STRC); training program development and equipment acquisition is currently in process.

12. In 2025, the City retained the professional services of RS&H, a leader in the aerospace infrastructure sector, to review all work completed to date and to determine remaining steps toward obtaining the FAA Commercial Spaceport License and estimates of associated costs. (Attachment 5)

13. RS&H has identified four remaining, but significant requirements, toward completing the application for the FAA Spaceport license. Potential next steps would be to release a Request For Proposal (RFP) to identify a qualified company to complete the remaining requirements.

14. RS&H was also contracted to conduct an Economic Impact Assessment on obtaining a Spaceport license for the Paso Robles Airport. (Attachment 6)
Community Outreach
The project has received extensive local media coverage and the City has been in contact with numerous individuals throughout the community who have expressed their views on this topic.

In addition to multiple presentations to City Council, staff have also made presentations to the following groups and organizations:

The City also created a webpage on its website dedicated to information about the spaceport project that can be reached via the domain PasoRoblesAirandSpaceport.com .

Options

1. Take no action;

2. Direct staff to move forward with an RFP process seeking an agreement with a company qualified to fulfill all remaining steps needed to complete the application for the FAA Commercial Spaceport license and return to Council for consideration;

3. Direct staff to discontinue efforts associated with developing a Spaceport and Tech Corridor at the airport;

4. Provide alternative direction to staff.

Analysis and Conclusions
The Paso Robles Spaceport and Technology Corridor is a long-term, City Council-approved economic development initiative intended to diversify the local economy, attract higher-paying head-of-household jobs, and position Paso Robles as a regional hub for aerospace and advanced technology industries.

Centered around the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, the project leverages existing airport infrastructure, available industrial land, and proximity to California’s growing aerospace ecosystem.

Historically, Paso Robles’ economy has been driven by tourism, wine production, and service-related industries. While these sectors remain vital, City Council has consistently expressed the importance of broadening the economic base to improve wage levels, workforce retention, and long-term fiscal resilience.

As part of the City Council–approved FY 2024-2029 Economic Development Strategic Plan, staff were directed to pursue emerging industry sectors that align with Paso Robles’ physical assets, workforce potential, and regional partnerships. Aerospace, space systems testing, and advanced manufacturing were identified as strong opportunities due to the City’s airport infrastructure, geographic location, and available industrial land.

The Paso Robles Spaceport and Technology Corridor represents a strategic, long-term investment in the City’s economic future. Advancing the FAA Part 420 Horizontal Launch License application is a critical step in positioning Paso Robles to participate in the growing commercial space and aerospace economy while supporting City Council goals for job creation, economic diversification, and sustainable growth.

Importantly, obtaining a license does not authorize specific operators or missions; rather, it establishes a regulatory framework that enables future commercial space activities to be evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis.

According to the Global Spaceport Alliance (GSA), which comprises the largest network of international spaceports around the world, 90% of the economic activity at commercial spaceports does not revolve around launches, but rather involves activities related to technology testing, research & development, advanced manufacturing, and payload processing, etc.

To facilitate technology testing, the City has created a test site for rocket and jet engine systems by renovating a remote area of the airport that was originally used as a location to park bomber aircraft during WWII. To date, the new test site and its control room facilities are being used by several aerospace engineering firms as well as Cal Poly engineering students.

Many jobs in the commercial space industry do not require 4-year college degrees or higher. Technician level jobs are in high demand with three of the most in-demand technician positions including Welders, Machinists, and Maintenance Technicians. Specifically, members of the commercial space industry are saying, “We need tradespeople who can make things and fix things.”

One important aspect of the Paso Robles Spaceport project that is unique among licensed spaceports is the focus on K-20 education and workforce development in partnership with the PRJUSD Career and Technical Education (CTE) program and our local higher education institutions.

Micro-propulsion rocket systems test site at the Paso Robles Airport:
(Photo credits: Stellar Exploration; Adrienne Layne.)
In 2025, Cal Poly was awarded $1 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) under the NASA Safety, Security and Mission Support (SSMS) account to establish the Paso Robles Spaceport Training and Research Center (STRC) at the Paso Robles Air and Space Port.

The STRC will:
• Establish a state-of-the-art aerospace laboratory and test complex • Create a comprehensive aerospace workforce development pipeline • Provide hands-on engine testing, prototyping, and payload flight opportunities • Align training with the commercial space industry
• Support regional economic transition and strengthen U.S. space leadership The center is designed to integrate:
• Education
• Applied research
• Engine testing infrastructure
• Industry partnerships
• Assured access to space for scientific payloads

Paso Robles’ optimal location south of Silicon Valley, north of Vandenberg Space Force Base, and nearby to Cal Poly and Cuesta College positions the City well for participating in the emerging Central Coast space economy.

Modern Commercial Spaceport operations are compatible with General Aviation activities. The Paso Robles Airport currently has 197 based aircraft with a long-term forecast to grow this number to 296 over the next 20 years (see Table 3A from the Airport Master Plan in development). (Source: Paso Robles Municipal Airport Master Plan in development.) By comparison, the FAA Licensed Colorado Air and Space Port today has over 500 based aircraft.

The Paso Robles Airport currently utilizes 13.8% of the airfield capacity. Long-term forecasting estimates that over the next 20 years the airport will grow to use 21.9% of its airfield capacity, leaving nearly 80% available (see Table 3D from the Airport Master Plan in development).

The Paso Robles Airport is approximately 1,300 acres in size. Both Tartaglia Engineering and Coffman Associates have identified significant areas of the airport available for potential development related to commercial spaceport operations while safeguarding areas for General Aviation and other activities.

Total Potential Spaceport Area:
(Source: Tartaglia Engineering, Preliminary Technical Review) Potential Spaceport/Non-aeronautical Use Reserve:
(Source: Paso Robles Municipal Airport Master Plan in development.)

The City is also exploring the potential to establish an Enhanced Infrastructure Funding District (EIFD) for the Tech Corridor area surrounding the airport as a forward-looking mechanism to reinvest revenues back into the area and address future infrastructure needs consistent with envisioned potential growth.

Regarding the FAA Spaceport License application itself, work conducted over the past several years has successfully addressed a number of requirements. Sections of the Part 420 License Application that have received conditional FAA approval to date include:
 PRASP-PLN-1020 Spaceport Records Management Plan
 PRASP-SUG-1100 Spaceport User Guide
 PRASP-PLN-1120 Public Access Control Plan
 PRASP-PLN-1140 Ground Operations Safety Plan
 PRASP-PLN-1160 Mishap & Emergency Response Plan
 PRASP-PLN-1200 Explosive Site Plan
 PRASP-OPS-1220 Hazard Analysis
 PRASP-PLN-1260 Scheduling & Notifications Plan
 PRASP-PRO-1280 Scheduling & Notifications Procedure
 PRASP-TRN-1320 General Site Familiarization & Safety Training Analysis by RS&H has determined that to submit a complete FAA Commercial Spaceport License application, the City will need to complete the following:
 Detailed technical assessments, including flight safety and risk analysis.  Formal Letters of Agreement (LOAs) with the U.S. Coast Guard and FAA Air Traffic.  Updated Airport Layout Plan (ALP) including designated Spaceport operations areas. (This ALP update will be done as part of the Airport Master Plan Update already underway, ensuring alignment and efficiency.)
 Environmental permits for both state and federal agencies. Recent executive orders (EO) are expected to reduce the scope of environmental review, cutting both time and cost.

The estimated timeline and costs to complete the application effort is:
 12–18 months once funded.
 $900,000 - $1.2 million in third-party consultant and subject matter expert costs. o If CEQA approvals are no longer required and a federal categorical exclusion (CATEX) is granted, the cost could be reduced to as low as $750,000.

The RS&H Economic Impact Study projects that over the next 15–20 years, the Paso Robles Spaceport initiative could generate approximately 875 total jobs and nearly $30 million in total tax revenue. These impacts reflect the long-term regional economic benefits of expanding aerospace activity and related industries at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact to moving forward with an RFP process. Fiscal impacts related to future phases of the FAA licensing process and infrastructure investments would be brought forward for City Council consideration as appropriate. Cost estimates to complete the application for the FAA 420 Commercial Spaceport License range from $750,000 to $1,200,000 depending on proposals that would be received through an RFP process.

CEQA
The City finds that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (c)(2)-(3), 15378.

Recommendation
After receiving and considering input from the Planning Commission and Airport Commission during the joint meeting, it is recommended that the City Council direct staff to proceed with preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit an agreement with a firm that is qualified to complete all remaining steps necessary for preparation and submittal of the application for a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Spaceport License; and to direct staff to return to the City Council at a future meeting with the results of the RFP process and a recommended agreement for Council’s consideration and possible approval.

Attachments

1. Preliminary Technical Review

2. Diversifying a Local Economy and Workforce Development Opportunities with a City-Owned Spaceport

3. Business Development Ecosystem Research

4. NSF Space Technology Conference Final Report

5. Launch Site Operators License Scope of Work Evaluation - Executive Summary

6. Economic Impact Assessment Study Presentation

7. Letters of Support

Paso Robles
Spaceport
Preliminary Technical Review
Prepared by:

Tartaglia Engineering
&
S.O. Witt and Associates LLC.

February 28, 2022
Attachment 1

Introduction
The City of Paso Robles, on the California Central Coast, seeks a substantial and aggressive Economic Development initiative to attract professional living wage jobs to the region by targeting the emerging commercial space industry as one plausible vertical sector, among others. Paso Robles desires to seek and obtain a FAA/AST Site Operators License (Space Port License for KPRB, Paso Robles Municipal Airport).

The desire is to have a license in-hand as soon as possible.

1. Objective
Obtain and review results of a feasibility study by
industry subject matter experts and local knowledged
civil engineers and designers initiated in January
2022. Identify and mitigate obstacles to the vision
and initiate action steps to obtain a Space Port
Designation for Paso Robles as a substantial building
block, branding and identity moniker and active
attractant to the commercial space industry.

Determine a Make/Buy decision at the City Council
level to bring aboard a team to manage the Space Port
licensing and associated agreements and
environmental process. In parallel, take immediate
action steps to implement a futuristic industrial park
adjacent to the existing Paso Robles Airport and
upgrade required, transportation, telecom, utilities
infrastructure to accommodate the targeted high-tech
market.

2. Industry Background
In the year 2000 the United States failed to have a
single commercial space launch as the industry had migrated to foreign launch providers. A singular event changed everything in the summer of 2004, when a private firm in California placed two of its employees out of a team of 40 into space three times, by building a carrier craft (endo-atmospheric) and carrying a human rated and licensed sub-orbit craft (exo-atmospheric), also manufactured by the same 40 people.

Overnight entrepreneurial firms emerged across the land. Today there are more commercially designed, built and flying in orbital space items numbering in the thousands more than the nearest government, a radical demonstration of the best of America. Aligned with the California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, the City of Paso Robles intends to capitalize on the future of this California-born industry in a big way. It is simply ours to lose or exploit and the time is now.

Attachment 1

Location and Setting
San Luis Obispo County, California, is situated about mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, extending from the coast, east to the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County. The City of Paso Robles, officially known as El Paso de Robles, is the second largest municipality in San Luis Obispo County. The city occupies about 20 square miles, straddling the Salinas River within the picturesque Salinas River Valley that extends from Santa Margarita to the south, all the way north to the Monterey Bay. With a population of around 33,000, the community is considered rural. Historically an agricultural area, throughout the recent past cattle grazing, almond orchards, and hay and grain, have given way to vineyard.

While wine has been produced in the region for over two centurys, the hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters have made this area known for very good, hearty reds including zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon.

Over the years the wine industry, local recreational lakes, and several key attractions including the MidState Fair have all made Paso Robles a popular vacation destination.

Paso Robles Airport (KPRB) is located
within the incorporated limits of the
City of Paso Robles, northern San Luis
Obispo County. The airport occupies
about 1,100 acres of real property, on
the north side of Dry Creek Road, in
the northeast corner of the city. From
downtown Paso Robles, the airport is
accessed by traveling east on State
Highway 46, turning left onto Airport
Road, and proceeding north about a
mile and a half. The airport is on the
right-hand side of Airport Road.

Primary features of the airport include
Runway 1-19 (6,008’ by 150’) and
Runway 13-31 (4,701’ by 100’),
situated in a triangle configuration.

Runway 1-19 is a non-precision marked and lighted facility, with full-length Taxiway A to its northwest.

Runway 13-31 is likewise a non-precision marked and lighted facility, however this runway does not have an accompanying parallel taxiway. Both runways are adequately served by a network of connecting taxiways that provide access to the terminal, self-serve fuel, aircraft storage hangars, FBO’s, and the worldfamous Estrella Warbird Museum.

A lighted and marked Helipad with six designated parking locations is situated along the east side of Taxiway E, across from the terminal. Cal-Fire operates a very active base at Paso Robles Airport. Recent extensions in fire season have made this base almost a year-round active facility.

Attachment 1

Visibility at Paso Robles is historically excellent. Because of this reality, the airport provides excellent service with minimal navigation aids. The airport does have a rotating beacon, primary and secondary wind cones, and a segmented circle. Runway’s 19 and 31 have 4-box PAPI. Both runways are equipped with elevated edge and threshold lights, with Runway 1-19 being a HIRL, 5-step system. The threshold of Runway 19 is equipped with Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL’s). All taxiways are well delineated with elevated edge lights or stake-mounted reflectors. Paso Robles Airport does not have a Glide Slope, Localizer, or other navigation elements and components typically associated with an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

The airport is open 24-hours a
day with no operational
restrictions to either runway.

Aviation enthusiasts fly into
Paso Robles for business, for
the agricultural and wine
industry, or for recreational
and scenic destinations
throughout the region.

Activity is evenly spread
distributed; weekends for
recreation and weekdays for
business. The airport does
attract significant transient
military operations and
activities, in conjunction with
nearby Camp Roberts to the
northwest. There are about
150 based aircraft at Paso
Robles.

During fire response activities, Cal-Fire operates from their base at Paso Robles. Operations tend to start mid-morning, after morning briefing and review of aerial incident documentation, and continue up to sunset. Operations after sundown are generally limited to return-to-base movements, and usually wrap up within an hour of sunset.

Attachment 1

Attachment 1

Joint City Council, Planning Commission, and Airport Commission Special Meeting Agenda March 4, 2026 Goals and Objectives
The vision for a Spaceport in Paso Robles is centered around the following goals and objectives:

1. It is Paso Robles’ vision to pioneer the future of commercial space flight and re-boot the state of California’s role as the leader in the aerospace industry…” - Mayor Steve Martin

2. As a major element of the Paso Tech Corridor, to expand diversity in the local economy with a focus on creation of head-of-household employment opportunities.

3. Through a well-established relationship with Cal Poly, provide an avenue for education, research, experimentation, training, testing, and hands-on production of space-centric projects and programs, in line with Cal Poly’s philosophy of “Learn by Doing”.

4. To become a recognized leader in the space industry for innovation, production, safety, and delivery.

Airfield Analysis and Capabilities

1. Airport Design Standards and Capabilities:

The Design Code for Runway 1-19, the main runway, is C-III, with an ultimate Design Code of C-IV. The design aircraft for Runway 1-19 is the BAE 146 / Gulfstream 500, each with a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTO) of approximately 93,000 pounds. The runway to parallel taxiway separation distance, center to center, is 400 feet. At 150 feet wide, and with the identified separation distance, this runway can support large aircraft.

The Design Code for Runway 13-31, what is considered the “cross-wind” runway, is B-III, with an ultimate code of the same designation. The design aircraft for Runway 13-31 is the Beech 100 King Air, with a MTO of 12,000 pounds. There is no parallel taxiway serving this runway. At 100 feet wide, this runway can support aircraft of a larger size than the design aircraft implies.

Pavement strength throughout the airport varies, reflective of the facilities storied history. Runway 1-19, the airports primary runway, can support 60,000-pound single-wheel, 106,000-pound dual, and 150,000- pound dual-tandem wheel loadings. The surface includes a friction element (grooved) in accordance with FAA standards for Part 139. Runway 13-31 supports 30,000-pound single, 50,000-pound dual, and 90,000- pound dual-tandem wheel loadings. The majority of all taxiways west of Runway 1-19 have design strengths not quite to the capabilities of Runway 1-19, and Taxiway F, along the airports southern edge, providing service to Runway 31, can adequately support the aircraft using this runway. Recognizing that pavement strength is also a factor of load frequency, it is common for Paso Robles to periodically host Attachment 1

military C-130 and MD87 air attack aircraft. With the exception of the old apron at the terminal, all airfield pavements at Paso Robles are asphalt.

Current discussions regarding Spaceport have focused on a small, light-weight platform. Should this path continue and prove successful, improvements to existing runways and taxiways may be minimal, if any. In the event the launch platform grows, the result of either a larger, heavier payload, or an extended space destination (more energy), the need for airfield upgrades and enhancements could materialize.

2. Possible Airfield Upgrades and Enhancements:

In general, the airfield at Paso Robles has been maintained to an acceptable level of service. While several connecting taxiways do not presently meet recently adopted taxiway geometry standards, there is no implementation deadline accompanying the adoption of these new standards. The airfield is safe and functional. The following are possible airfield upgrades that could be implemented as part of service to a spaceport:

A. Increase the structural strength of either / both runways through an asphalt pavement overlay.

B. Extend either / both runways.

C. Widen and strengthen taxiways along the alignment from Mission Prep to point of launch.

3. Possible Airport Security Upgrades:

The presence of a spaceport at Paso Robles Airport will command a higher level of safety and security. The following items are anticipated:

A. Generation and dissemination of information packages to all airport tenants regarding airfield protocol in advance of and during a launch event, with a special emphasis on reducing human density during hazardous operations including launches.

B. Creation of a redundant communications system for notifications to tenants, on-airport and off airport business employees, and all neighbors within the Advanced Notification Zone established during the planning process, involved and not involved in space activities and associated hazards.

C. Upgrades to portions of the secured airport perimeter fence.

D. Implementation of an airport access management system, that could include termination of all access code functionality in favor of implementation of a trackable, access card system.

E. Implementation of video surveillance at key locations throughout the airport including access gates, with positioning capabilities to document vehicle, license plate, and driver facial features.

4. On-Airport Emergency Response Upgrades:

The City of Paso Robles Fire Department maintains three (3) fire stations throughout the town. One is identified to be on the airport, on Buena Vista Drive. With the development of a spaceport, additions and expansions to the city’s emergency response capabilities are anticipated:

Attachment 1

A. Acquisition of an Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF), emergency response vehicle with chemical response capabilities.

B. Acquisition of a separate, hazardous materials response vehicle with expanded containment and suppression capabilities.

C. Implementation of enhanced staff training focused on response requirements related to space and aircraft vehicle mishaps, both on and off the airport.

5. Airfield improvements necessary to support the spaceport, directly related to the launch platform.

Presently unknown, to be determined in conjunction with identification of a launch partner and further definition of the launch platform.

Spaceport Development
The size, extent, and location of Spaceport development facilities at Paso Robles will be dictated by several factors, including both the launch platform and the launch program. Size and destination of payload, along with frequency, can dictate how and where mission preparation occurs, taxi route, and takeoff alignment.

1. Airport Zones for Development:

Hazardous Material Storage and Handling Locations (energetic materials storage location). This location must be clearly identified. May require a concrete capture basin in the event of spills and allow for separation by up to 100’ or more between individual propellants and oxidizers.

Hazardous Material Storage and Handling will be a critical part of the FAA 420 application process and may actually trail the initial license approval. During the Mojave Air and Space Port application process the latency between an interim permit/license and final was several years to allow for a robust HAZMAT and Energetic Storage Plan. At Paso Robles, each operator will have their own launch license which will be independently awarded by FAA/AST and map to stipulated conditions outlined in the Site License granted to KPRB. Embedded within the two licenses will be conditions for where and in what quantities potentially energetic materials/liquids or solids can be stored and how handled to ensure safety to the involved and non-involved public also operating at KPRB.

As a public use facility, Paso Robles Airport has a well-established general aviation community supporting light civil, Ag-Industrial and fire-fighting along with regular business jet traffic augmented by occasional military aircraft and other special use craft for logistics, medivac and other purposes. Adding a space port designation to KPRB should not disrupt current operations, but instead, augment reasonable regional economic growth as a future player within the growing commercial space industry. With California being one of the world’s leading space economies, the central coast should be aligned to grow with this emerging market. Regional proximity to and aligned with Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and Vandenburg Space Force Base, a Spaceport designation for Paso Robles Airport could augment and stimulate many emerging space Attachment 1

component developers to relocate to the central California coast.

Many industries have learned how to insert hazardous operations effectively into existing market segments such a pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, packaging and shipping, chemical plants, energy plants, and even micro-breweries, distilleries and wineries. Ironically, all of the above identified industries are synergistic with the Space Industry as often similar trade skills are shared as needed by all. Energy development plants/refineries have far more mishaps than space development sites and they all deal with explosive hazards and pressure vessel events as a matter of doing business while operating in metropolitan and highly dense human areas.

2. Safety standoff locations for Hazardous Operations and Mission Preparation:

A 1200’ standoff zone fixed location (Mission Prep) which will move as a loaded space vehicle is moved into position for a horizontal launch triggering a need to avoid populated areas and high-density human activity on the surface. This activity will govern ground and air departure routes.

3. Space Port Industrial Park (R&D, Production, Logistics, Operations Centers):

While portions of these activities can occur in a business park setting, in proximity to the airport, much of this effort will require direct airfield access. Building and apron locations to be governed by airport design standards, with consideration for aircraft / public interface. An interesting component of Space Operations is a control center. While a single, centralized control center is often visualized to serve all operators, similar to a NASA / military style facility, it is anticipated that each launch entity will design and operate their own command and control center, primarily to protect trade secrets and encrypt communications.

4. On-Airfield Activities:

The following activities have been identified as related to space exploration and commerce, and would be considered typical for the Paso Robles Spaceport.

A. Research and development including modeling.

B. Testing including test firing, low altitude testing, aerodynamic testing.

C. Fabrication, material processing including drawing and forging, metallurgy.

D. Clean room assembly.

E. Vacuum and pressure environment facilities.

5. Paso Robles Airport Underdeveloped Areas:

The airport has about 280 acres of land scattered throughout, either under-developed or void of any improvement whatsoever. This area is outside of all Building Restriction Lines (BRL’s), and all runway and taxiway Object Free Areas (ROFA, TOFA). Challenges exist for use and incorporation of this land as spaceport facilities:

Attachment 1

1. Designation: Much of this land is designated as “Future Aeronautical Use” on the approved ALP.

While some of the activity associated with spaceport could be considered aeronautical use, many spaceport activities might require a revised designation. Changing the designation will require an update to the ALP, along with FAA approval.

2. Access: Some of this area is within the triangle formed by Runway 1-19, Runway 13-31, and Taxiway F. Access to this area would be through a new airport entrance gate off Dry Creek Road, creation of a service road north, crossing Taxiway F, and entering the site. Alternate plans should be entertained, perhaps even including the bifurcation of Taxiway F, with construction of a new cross-airport connecting taxiway on the north side of a interior, spaceport development.

3. Obstruction-Free Zone Occupation: The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) is centered in a 500-foot no-build zone. It is possible this equipment could be relocated north, to cohabitat the VOR no-build zone, without any adverse impact to the operational capabilities of either piece of equipment.

To this end, the FAA will require a detailed amendment to the KPRB Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan (ALP) outlining locations, types and quantities of storage in addition to aviation fuel and jet fuel storage.

While the aviation and space industry has learned to perform their fuels handling and storage function in what is seeming a business-as-usual manner, the Space Industry remains under a microscope as new commercial operators enter the industrial arena and experiment with new propulsion cocktails outside aviation industry norms.

Attachment 1

Attachment
1

Air Operations – Launch to Space
Potential obstacles for departing/returning to KPRB with a space drone or man-rated sub-orbit vehicle exist.

After a review of existing special use airspace in and around KPRB, specifically the Hunter High and Low Military operating areas located within five (5) nm west of KPRB which extend offshore to within ten (10) nm of W-532N National Defense Operating Area, partially under the control of Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station Sea Range Department, it is recommended that a defined and negotiated route through this area would provide the greatest margin of safety to the non-involved public for launch and recovery operations of a selected reusable horizontal launch vehicle from/to KPRB. Taking off from Runway 1 and returning to Runway 19 is possible and plausible. Likewise, taking off from Runway 31 and returning to Runway 13 is equally plausible. This example routing will require negotiated “letters of agreement” with several controlling agencies;
a. FAA Air Route Control Centers, Oakland and Los Angeles, b. Hunter Liggett Air Operations, Military Operating Area’s A, B, C, & E (MOA), schedulable restricted airspace air operations.
c. Potentially with Naval Air Warfare Center Point Mugu for access and operations within W-532N or other subsections.

Negotiated access with KPRB will result in a schedulable air corridor access to an Area of Operations by Attachment 1

commercial operators via letter of agreement, independently negotiated by KPRB for special use operations including over sea space launches. This, or another plausible route to the W-532N sea range to be finalized during the licensing process will result in a special use corridor, estimated to be an airspace tunnel between Hunter Liggett and W-532N which can be activated by FAA ATC as an Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace (ATCAA) corridor, again under negotiation with the Controlling Center (Oakland or Los Angeles). ATCAA’s are in use in R-2508 and many other areas around the US where specific corridors are required for returning high altitude craft from time to time. (e.g., Porterville and Bakersfield Foothill ACTAA’s via ARTCC).

An alternate route which can be vetted in a later, in-depth process might be via a visual flight rules route to the south of KPRB to the Pacific Coast but passes over an area of higher human density which poses a more difficult proposition for FAA AST (office of Commercial Space Transportation when evaluating dangers to non-involve public). This route crosses multiple FAA jurisdictional lines with an unmanned craft intended to access space along with the human density matter.

This feasibility assessment does not consider vertical launch from KPRB as a viable concept at the present time due to displacement from an adjacent sea or land range nor due to the significant human population on three sides of KPRB.

To-date there have been no discussions specific to Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) or Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV). Launch partners could elect to employ one or both options within their specific program.

ELV booster falls back to earth and either burns on reentry or splashes into the ocean and sinks.

Example, SpaceX primarily reuses boosters when possible as a dramatic cost reduction measure. The NASA Shuttle was partially re-usable as external tanks were recovered when possible and re-purposed as was the Shuttle itself. Traditionally, rockets are launched (one and done) from Sea or Land Ranges as each launch departed mutually exclusively on a new, one-time rocket booster. The Virgin Galactic manrated sub-orbit vehicle and the Blue Origin sub-orbit vehicle are reusable in total and each component returns for re-use. It is highly plausible for new variants to be hybrid of both. Potentially departing from a civil airport as an unmanned drone with a space payload, flying endo-atmospherically (like any aircraft) to a preprogramed launch position and deploying an internal or external rocket powered package with payload.

The City of Paso Robles has accurately presented several to-be-fully-developed conceptual systems which could easily begin to define the small satellite or cube-sat market in the years to come. If we were to try to define the winners and loser at this point we would most likely be wrong, but to agree that the future of space access is unfolding before our eyes would be accurate and Paso Robles could be the Central Coast Space Benefactor by positioning to respond regardless how the launch market matures. Focusing on a plausible route from/to space from KPRB with justification and a keen eye to safe-guarding the noninvolved public and mitigating all known and to be determined environmental matters will serve the community well.

Applications for space launch facilities shall complete an agreement with the local U.S. Coast Guard district to establish procedures for the issuance of a Notice to Mariners prior to a launch and other such measures Attachment 1

as the Coast Guard deems necessary to protect public health and safety. In addition, the application shall include an agreement with the FAA Air Traffic Control (ATC) office having jurisdiction over the airspace through which launches will take place, to establish procedures for the issuance of a Notice to Airmen prior to a launch and for closing of air routes during the launch window and other such measures as the FAA ATC office deems necessary to protect public health and safety.

Air Operations – Payload Relocation
By far and above, the goal of the Paso Robles Spaceport is licensed launches of relatively small cargo to space. In conjunction with this, a component of spaceport activities could be the design, testing, fabrication, and production of space payload, that, due to weight and size, is relocated to another facility for placement in space. It is possible this parallel path of space development becomes the major component of space – Paso Robles. The airfield at Paso Robles can easily support fully-loaded, C130 and B757, and other aircraft in this design group, for use payload relocation.

FAA/AST Review & Permitting Process
The city staff and representatives of the Mayors’ Technical Advisory Committee established initial contact with FAA/AST during the summer, 2021. FAA is aware of the broad goals of the city of Paso Robles regarding a space program, and is anxious to support the city’s proposed program within their authority and capability.

More recent discussions with staff at FAA/AST have identified:

1. Applications lacking a credible launch platform with an expected / targeted launch date will experience significant delays in processing.

2. The identified platform must be capable of accessing the desired launch area with appropriate hazard mitigations.

3. The application must contain the necessary trajectory analysis and second-by-second hazard mitigation along the expected transit and launch profile or the FAA will not consider it credible.

4. FAA will not initiate / support the required Environmental Assessment (EA) until they have determined the application to be substantially complete.

As with many agencies, the FAA is managing their human asset as efficiently as possible. Within AST, this translates to focusing efforts and resources on those programs and applications that are logical and viable, well thought out, and complete. Submittals of less than complete initial packages can occur, with operators “feeding” or “trickling in” material to the FAA/AST as it becomes available. This is discouraged as the FAA/AST has limited staff dedicated to reviewing applications. “False Starts” provide little benefit in the queue. Until and unless a viable launch partner with a platform to some level of development can be identified, applications centered on phantom vehicles or operations are not looked on with favor.

Attachment 1

Path Forward.

The following outline provides for significant progress s is

1. Schedule and hold pre application consultation with the FAA.

2. Continue marketing Spaceport Paso Robles and the Paso Tech Corridor:

A. Launch partners.

B. Space systems and programming entities.

C. Payload producers.

D. Space communications systems providers.

E. Space environment testing labs.

F. Entities performing activities and tasks including but not limited to research and development, proof-of-concept, manufacturing, testing, production, and operations.

3. Perform research into one or more conceptual launch platform partners. Will the spacecraft be a single vehicle, space drone, from ground to space, or will the craft be attached to an aircraft, belly-mount or shellback, with piloted operations from Paso Robles to a launch point offshore, where separation and launch to space occurs? Will the vehicle be reusable (RLV) or expendable (ELV). Acquire performance specifications from potential launch partners.

4. Generate a Preliminary Spaceport Plan of Operations (PSPO) focused on launch to space:

A. Potential launch partners and conceptual platform.

B. Conceptual parameters and characteristics of the launch, including weight, energy source and volume, etc.

C. Anticipated launch frequencies.

D. Aircraft with space vehicle route to offshore launch point.

E. On-airport launch alignments and takeoff point (presuming Runway 31 or Runway 1).

F. Identification of on-airport areas that could be dedicated to space-related facilities.

G. Identify the location for hazardous materials storage.

H. Detail the hazardous materials path from storage to mobile fueler, to launch platform, to runway threshold, to clear of airport property. Present the 1200-foot clear zone along this path.

I. On-airport facility modifications, expansions, and upgrades:
a. Airfield pavements including new or expanded taxiways, infield upgrades and aprons.

Runway extensions are not anticipated but could occur based on the launch platform. b. Power and communications utility upgrades.
c. Hazardous material containment.
d. Storm drainage improvements.
e. Security enhancements.

J. Identify an on-airport control center and emergency response center.

Attachment 1

K. Resolve challenges at the launch site as necessary to ensure all personal and property are at a safe standoff distance and operational mitigation plans are in place to accommodate nominal and abnormal operations or outcomes.

L. Detail anticipated mission preparation and control measures and entities, including the possible involvement of Cal Poly.

M. Anticipated Airport Layout Plan (ALP) revisions and updates, in support of space facilities and operations integration into the existing airport, including on-airport area designation changes, and modifications and expansions to airport facilities including runways, taxiways, and possibly aprons.

5. With the PSPO in-hand, initiate discussions with the following entities, including preparation and submission of preliminary permit applications as necessary to facilitate dialog:

A. The County of San Luis Obispo’s Departments of Planning and Building, and Emergency Management.

B. The FAA Air Traffic Control including both Oakland and Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC).

C. The US Coast Guard.

D. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Point Mugu Sea Range.

E. Holders of military airspace authorities for U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett, (Military Operating Areas A, B, C, & E), the Pacific Missile Test Range, and others authorizations.

F. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

G. California Army National Guard, Camp Roberts.

H. Others having interest in proposed operations and authority and responsibility over the land, sea, and the uninformed public that may be impacted by proposed activities.

6. Initiate local planning authority processing and review:

A. City of Paso Robles Planning Department.

B. County of San Luis Obispo Planning and Building, and the county’s Office of Emergency Services.

Establish / confirm the path forward for planning approval, including anticipated schedule, fees, and milestone submission requirements.

7. Prepare draft support plans:

A. Hazardous materials storage / handling plan. Identify means and methods for storage and handling of hazardous materials. Present a solution that provides a safe and acceptable locating for storage and process for handling energetic liquids.

B. Emergency response plan that addresses all on-property and route to launch emergency response requirements including established prevention and response protocols. Emergency response entities, chain of command, lines of communication, extent of individual and collective authorities, etc.

C. Develop an on-airport safety management plan, detailing enhanced on-going airport security and safety measures, and those increased activities related to launch events.

Attachment 1

8. Revise the PSPO reflecting:

A. Preliminary comments received.

B. Updated information regarding launch partner, platform, and anticipated frequency of operations.

C. Using the specific launch partner / platform:
a. Confirm anticipated space program, including launch frequencies, launch mass, on-board energy, and return-to-base plans.
b. Acquire the required engineering data, conduct profile analysis based on the partners single or family of launch craft with single or multiple specific craft profiles. c. Establish plans for mitigating all hazards associated with the candidatesprofile/trajectory.

9. Work with the launch partner in the preparation and completion of their “In-Parallel Launch License”, application including “Reentry Operations” if appropriate. Incorporate material from the PSPO into their documents while concurrently revising the PSPO to reflect the specific operational parameters of the partners proposed program.

10. Formalize ALP revisions, submit to FAA’s San Francisco Airports District Office (SFO-ADO), and gain approval.

11. Initiate lease agreements with third-party launch partners, including draft financial participation “if-then” agreements.

12. Prepare the Spaceport License to Operate Launch Site preliminary application for submission, reflective of the revised PSPO, along with the Spaceport License to Operate Reentry Site, if appropriate.

13. Submit the revised PSPO along with preliminary spaceport application to entities with authority for land and airspace. Garner draft Letters of Agreement from the US Coast Guard, FAA Oakland ARTCC, Hunter Liggett MOA, Point Mugu Sea Range and others.

14. Present the revised SPO, draft Letters of Agreement, and completed application to FAA/AST in pursuit of a spaceport license. Gain “Application Substantially Complete” status. FAA/AST review begins.

15. Initiate the federal Environmental Assessment (EA) addressing environmental issues of the project including on airport operations, profiles and trajectories, hazardous materials and emergency response, with input from FAA/AST regarding any site or operational specific items requiring focused attention. Initiate the parallel, state Environmental Impact Report (EIR) effort.

Proceed through the study and public hearing process.

Attachment 1

16. At this point all planning and environmental efforts are synchronized. Receive final approvals and licenses:

A. EA with mitigation
B. EIR with mitigation
C. License to Operate Launch Site (and Reentry Site, if appropriate) D. Launch License (with Reentry, if appropriate)
Schedule
A bar-chart schedule is included as an attachment, presenting an aggressive approach to gain site license authority for Paso Robles. Activities are distributed over a 28-month time frame. With an undertaking of this magnitude and potential complexity, reliant on the performance of individuals and entities beyond the teams’ authority and control, it is reasonable to conclude that time extensions to some activities will occur.

Success as measured through steady, documented progress, will be the result of continuous program management and attention, focused on specific submission and filing deadlines, public hearing timelines, and through pursuit of concurrent efforts whenever possible.

Challenges to Acquiring a License
At a minimum, the licensing team will be addressing a variety of challenges and obstacles, including:

1. Concerns from neighbors and the general public:

A. General safety, fear of mishap on the ground during experimentation, testing or launch, include blast injury and concussive impact.

B. Flying / falling object anxiety.

C. Health and safety focused on toxic airborne drift.

D. Noise, random nuisance or damaging.

It should be expected that the typical “not in my backyard” neighbor sentiment will have a larger than normal radius due the perceived nature of activities related to spaceport.

2. Environmental:

A. Flora and fauna at the airport. The following have been confirmed as being on airport property or likely to have habitat within the perimeter fence:
a. Fairy shrimp
b. Kit fox
c. Burrowing owl
d. American badger
While routine vegetation maintenance at the airport has kept the overgrowth under control, there by preserving the safety of the facility, it is possible that some locations targeted for space Attachment 1

development facilities could hold flora of unique, protected status. Expansion of airfield elements including runways, taxiways, and aprons, or development of third-party facilities focused on research, development, manufacturing, etc., may require mitigation including habitat preservation, restoration, or relocation.

B. Potential air quality impacts related to the manufacturing, testing, and launching of space vehicles.

C. The storage and handling of hazardous materials.

D. Possible traffic impacts resulting from increased activities at the airport.

E. Increased water consumption associated with manufacturing and testing processes.

3. Corridor Authority:

A. City and county planning.

B. The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett.

C. Authorities / entities that own and manage the restricted airspace between Paso Robles Airport and the launch point.

D. The California Coastal Commission.

E. State and Federal Fish and Wildlife.

F. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

4. FAA / ATC:

Coordination and acquisition of specific and individual launch window authorities.

5. Gaining authority to pass over the proposed Chumash Heritage Nation Marine Sanctuary.

Pursuit of corridor authority after final sanctuary designation will result in the need for consultation in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, included in its entirety within Title 36 CFR, Part 800. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), established through passage of the NHPA, will be the initial point of contact, should this occur.

An educational campaign will be required to alter the public and local permitting-agency general perceptions and mental imageries of a spaceport, spacecraft, and the action of a launch to space, all historically centered on vertical launch action. As envisioned at Paso Robles, the horizontal platform launch-to-space, focused on small payload, whether single vehicle or tandem vehicle with separation and launch off shore, is so much more agreeable.

Attachment 1

City of Paso Robles Fiscal Year
Calendar Year
Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Pre-application consultation with FAA / AST
Research conceptual launch platform and obtain performance specifications Prepare Preliminary Spaceport Plan of Operations (PSPO) Communications with entities holding planning / permitting authority Concept Layout on ALP
Establish tentative route from Spaceport to W-532
Develop Haz. Mat. storage / handling plan reflective of proposed energetic liquids Develop draft emergency response plan for on/off airport Develop on-airport safety management plan
Prepare, submit, and manage through approval process: city and county planning permits Seek and obtain letters of agreement from interested parties: FAA, Hunter Liggett, Mugu Prepare draft site license application
Prepare draft launch license application
Submit PSPO and license applications to FAA / AST
FAA / AST application review
Application deemed Substantially Complete
EA / EIR environmental process
Process ALP revision to FAA
Create / establish on-airport lease sites
Modify documents based on input and communications through the environmental process Initiate / complete partnership agreements
Site license issued
2022 2023 2024
2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025
Paso Robles Spaceport Proposed Licensing Schedule Updated: February 25, 2022 Attachment 1

Joint City Council, Planning Commission, and Airport Commission Special Meeting Agenda March 4, 2026 Summary
• The city retained Tartaglia Engineering, with S.O. Witt and Associates, LLC, to research and review the possibilities for successful pursuit of a spaceport license for a somewhat light-weight vehicle, horizontal platform launch program based at Paso Robles Airport. • The scope of our professional services agreement was intentionally and wisely limiting – intended to flush-out any fatal flaws.
• To date, based on our collective, preliminary research, we have not found any. • In short, we see that a license to operate such a space launch facility at the airport is doable. • Airspace / corridor review and evaluation:
o Agreements required by several agencies starting with either Oakland and/or Los Angeles ARTCC, Hunter Liggett, and Pt. Mugu.
o Have established a preliminary alignment from Paso Robles Airport to 12-miles off shore, within the W-532N National Defense Operating Area, where in the “launch” activity could occur, circumventing the southern end of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. o Corridor agreements will address and include time of day, frequency and duration of use, conditions and restrictions. It is possible that other corridors could be established based on launch partner goals.
• Airfield review and evaluation:
o Identifying on-airport areas for R&D, manufacturing and testing, launch logistics and operations center, storage and handling of potentially energetic liquids and other hazardous materials, and mission preparation. Areas on existing airport property have been identified for space systems development.
o Tracing the 1200-foot standoff zone from mission preparation to launch position with limited impact to habitable spaces.
o Anticipate limited operations using the runways that exist, but recognize that enhanced and expanded operational capabilities can be achieved through implementation of planned runway extensions.
• Anticipating supporting two general classifications of air operations related to space:
o Smaller aircraft-based, horizontal launch to off the coast, followed by separation, high-energy initiation, and vertical movement to space.
o Larger aircraft-based operations including but not limited to C17, C130, B757 focused on high-value, space-systems payload relocation from the space development complex at Paso Robles Airport to vertical launch facilities elsewhere. • Anticipating challenges in several arenas:
o On and off airport:
 Planning and permitting.
 Environmental.
 Emergency response: on property mishaps and off-property impacts. o Neighbor and community buy-in.

Attachment 1

o Competition from existing, permitted or nearly permitted launch facilities. • It will not be a straight line from today to first permitted launch. • The effort may be challenging in areas and ways that, for the most part, will be no surprise. • The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will extend from Gaviota, north to and join with the southern end of the Monterey Bay Marina Sanctuary. This could be problematic.
• A federal space port license is a federal action.
• Based on our discovery to-date, and in the interest of time, the team is prepared to start expanding the level of service to the city in pursuit of Spaceport Licensing, concurrently with completing the already-authorized tasks.

In our opinion, it is not too early to market your vision. You have made initial contact with the FAA / AST regarding a Spaceport at Paso Robles, focused on a horizontal launch platform to space. The permitting agency is aware of your plans, and is prepared to work with you and your consulting team through the submission and licensing process. The community is in strong support of a spaceport at the airport, and the city is committed to making it a reality, as an integral part of the Paso Tech Corridor.

Target licensing is June, 2024, with a preliminary launch program supporting 12 operations per year.

Attachment 1

An examination of education
and workforce development
opportunities associated
with a city-owned spaceport
Elise St. John, PhD.

Cal Poly Digital Transformation Hub
Elena Felix
Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering
Miriam Gabai
Cal Poly Graphic Communication

DIVERSIFYING
A LOCAL ECONOMY:

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 2
Executive Summary
This study is part of the broader initiative, “A Hub
for Public-Private Partnership and Innovation: Connecting Cal Poly with the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park,” commissioned by the City of
Paso Robles on the California Central Coast. Its primary objective is to explore the educational and workforce
development possibilities associated with establishing
a spaceport at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

The City of Paso Robles and the Paso Robles Municipal Airport are seeking approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain a launch site
operator license, which would permit the operation of
horizontal launch space vehicles from the City’s current airport runways. Additionally, the City is developing
the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology
Park, with the intent to establish business innovation
ecosystems that promote the development, transfer,
and commercialization of technology relevant to space
launch and satellite operations.

This qualitative study aims to shed light on regional education and workforce development opportunities pertinent to the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and
Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park.

The insights gained from this research are intended to
guide decisions regarding the inclusion of industries
and programs at the Paso Robles Space Innovation
and Technology Park. Furthermore, the findings will
inform collaborative efforts with local community
colleges to chart potential education pathways and explore the establishment of apprenticeship models and other training initiatives in conjunction with existing and prospective industry partners. As such, the information gleaned from this study is meant to be informative and relevant to the City of Paso Robles. This study is not intended to be generalizable nor to inform policy, but rather serves as a model for understanding
current and anticipated hiring needs and opportunities
related to this emergent sector of the space industry.

An oak tree sits in a field as the sun sets in Paso Robles, CA.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 3
▶ A growing need for vocational and apprenticeship-trained technicians was identified, although challenges persist in recruitment and awareness of
relevant training programs.
▶ Addressing diversity within the profession emerged
as a pressing concern, with suggestions for educational initiatives aimed at fostering inclusivity and generating enthusiasm for space industry careers.
▶ Proposed changes in education and training include
expanding experiential learning opportunities in
collaboration with industry partners, developing
specialized training programs aligned with industry
needs, and increasing the availability of apprenticeship programs to broaden skillsets and knowledge bases.

State of the Industry
▶ Participants universally described the space industry as flourishing, with a thriving economy characterized
by low unemployment rates and sustained growth.
▶ A prevailing sense of urgency was noted across the
industry participants, driven by expanding commercial opportunities. This urgency prompted some organizations to prioritize hiring experienced professionals over developing new talent, potentially posing long-term challenges for workforce sustainability. ▶ Horizontal launch approaches to space were identified as holding significant promise for the industry’s future trajectory.

Roles and Skillsets in Demand
▶ The skillsets required for horizontal space launch
were found to largely overlap with those for vertical launch, though it was reasoned that horizontal launch could benefit from enhanced skills transferability facilitated by existing aviation training programs and careers. ▶ In-demand roles and skillsets encompass a wide
range, including various engineering disciplines,
manufacturing and production expertise, data science proficiency, knowledge of physics and orbital mechanics, as well as business development and
marketing.
▶ Organizations reported a growing need for vocationally trained technicians who can build and replicate product designs. Due to the unique designs and
products associated with the space industry, technician roles were argued to benefit from specialized skillsets and training.

Education and Workforce Development
Opportunities and Challenges
▶ Despite current job vacancies, organizations expressed concerns regarding the future pipeline of space industry professionals, advocating for a shift
towards investing in developing the next generation
of skilled talent.

Implications and Recommendations
This exploratory research study was conducted to
gain insights into the personnel needs of an emerging
space sector relevant to the proposed Paso Robles
Spaceport and the Paso Robles Space Innovation
and Technology Park. The findings from this study are
meant to inform the types of industries and programs
appropriate for inclusion at the Paso Robles Space
Innovation and Technology Park, guide potential education pathways in collaboration with local community colleges, and explore the development of apprenticeship models and other training programs with current and potential industry partners. It is important to note that the information gathered is not intended to be
generalizable to a broader population of potential
spaceports and space-related industry ecosystems, nor
to education and workforce related theory or policy.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 4
The current and projected growth of the space
economy provides important support for the City of
Paso Robles’s economic development activities associated with the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology
Park. Despite recent slowdowns in space investment
and global economy uncertainty, the space sector is
expected to maintain its resilience in the coming years (Forbes, 2023). Deloitte research identifies reusable
launch vehicles and the development of small satellites as two of the space industry’s fastest growing sectors
(Deloitte Space, 2023), aligning well with the proposed spaceport’s focus on horizontal launch, reusable space
vehicles, and collaboration with California Polytechnic State University on the continued development and
deployment of CubeSats.

While participants in the study reported strong
economic conditions and outlooks within the space
industry, they also highlighted challenges associated
with filling open job vacancies and concerns about preparing the future workforce. Short-term hiring practices favoring more experienced employees were noted,
raising concerns about the training and induction of
new employees. This practice is especially concerning
due to the imminent retirement of approximately a
third of the current workforce (AIA, 2023). However,
participants suggested that the skillsets associated
with horizontal launch approaches to space do not
differ significantly from vertical launch approaches,
presenting opportunities for expanding the impact
of training programs associated with the Paso Robles
Spaceport and Paso Robles Space Innovation and
Technology Park. Collaboration with existing aviation
programs may also help to facilitate the development
of specialized vocational and apprenticeship technician training programs. Such training programs hold promise for the burgeoning Central Coast space economy at large, including Vandenberg Space Force Base and
its many vendors, contractors, and commercial partners, as well as the many small and mid-sized space industry companies that reside in the Central Coast of
California.

Developing new vocational and apprenticeship
training programs isn’t enough, however. Participants
noted uncertainty about these training pathways,
including how and from where to recruit trained
An illustration of a 1U CubeSat,
which measures 10 x 10 x10
centimeters.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 5
professionals, and whether these programs could
meet the specific needs of their company. Several
study participants expressed the need for increased
collaboration between industry and higher education
programs, along with discussion about the necessity to
shift perceptions of technician jobs and training routes in general. The City of Paso Robles is fortunate to
have two leading community colleges in their region,
with a satellite college less than 5 miles away from the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and the Paso Robles
Space Innovation and Technology Park. These colleges
already administer successful training programs in collaboration with aviation companies and other related industry partners and will be a valuable resource.

Given the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport’s focus
upon supporting educational access to space, the
following recommendations focus upon education and
training activities advanced in collaboration with education systems, industry partners, government officials, and state and local economic development groups.

Firstly, the City of Paso Robles might consider funding a position focused on space education and workforce
development activities. This individual could serve as
a liaison between industry partners and education systems to, for example, support the alignment of training programs with job qualifications, and explore flexible
college-credit opportunities and the development of
apprenticeship programs. Secondly, collaboration with
local stakeholders such as government officials, state
and local economic development groups, and educational institutions is essential to securing support for space education and training programs. This includes
advocating for resources to support, for example, the
development of regional space education and training
facilities, external grant funding to aid research and
other educational activities and partnering with K-12
education systems to support STEM and space related
programs. Such activities would help to enable new
educational and training pathways for people interested in pursuing jobs in the space industry and generate enthusiasm for STEM and space industry careers across
educational systems. These initiatives have the potential to not only address workforce shortages, but also to improve awareness, perception, and diversity within
the industry.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 6
Background for Study
This study seeks to inform regional education
and workforce development activities associated with
the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and the Paso
Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park. The
study investigates skillsets in greatest demand among
a sample of space companies occupying different subsets of the industry, explores how members of these companies perceive current and potential education
and workforce pathways, and contemplates the opportunities and challenges associated with expanding the space industry workforce.

The Role of Horizontal Launch Spaceports
in the Space Industry
The sanctioning of horizontal launch spaceports is
increasing globally. As of February 2024, among the
14 spaceports that operate in the United States, nine
have been licensed for horizontal launch, and a growing number of the 18 spaceports that exist outside the United States include horizontal launch facilities. These capabilities are driven by the development of horizontally launched space vehicles that take off from airport runways similar to a traditional airplane and ascend to suborbital altitudes via rocket propulsion (Burleson &
Kozak, 2020). These horizontally launched spaceplanes
are argued to provide lower operating costs and
shorter turnaround times, enabling the possibility of
launching multiple times within a single day. They also support sustainability goals through reusability (Seedhouse, 2016).

Leaders in the space industry, along with government agencies worldwide, are increasingly advocating for additional spaceports. This advocacy stems from
the recognition that these facilities play a crucial role in providing access to space and to supporting essential
functions such as payload integration, vehicle testing, range instrumentation, and launch capabilities (Deloitte Space, 2023). Horizontally launched spaceplanes are also particularly well suited to the deployment of
small satellites, which are advantageous to scientific
and educational payload flights (Seedhouse, 2017),
and play important roles in the growth of the space
industry. A 2023 study by Deloitte, found that advances in reusable launch vehicles and the development of small satellites are major drivers in the growth of the industry (Deloitte Space, 2023). These new advances
also increase workforce opportunities. A 2020 study
by the Space Foundation reported exponential growth
within the industry over the last five years (Space
Foundation, 2022), with 18% of 151,797 jobs in 2021
associated with the launch sector alone (FAA, 2023).

Yet, alongside the promise of horizontal launch
vehicles and increasing numbers of spaceports exists a
significant gap in data and information that can guide
The exterior of the terminal at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport (KPRB).

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Diversifying a Local Economy | 7
the planning and preparation for education and training programs in this emerging sector. As the industry grows, new jobs will need to be filled, and an aging
workforce is a growing concern. According to a 2023
study by Aerospace Industries Association, 29% of
space industry employees are over the age of 55. As
these employees retire, it is estimated that the industry will experience a gap of 3.5 million workers by 2026
and that the impacts of these retirements will be felt
for 10-20 years (AIA, 2023).

In response to these concerns, new STEM initiatives, K-12 industry outreach efforts, scholarships and training programs, and industry collaborations aimed
at increasing education and workforce pipelines are
underway (FAA, 2023), as are renewed efforts to set
agendas around the growing space economy, space
exploration and space science, space-related jobs
and educational pathways, and occupational data to
better define occupation titles, education pathways
and counts, and median wages (White House National
Science and Technology Council, 2022). These initiatives and emerging resources shed important light on space industry education and workforce needs and
opportunities, and help industry, and regional governments and education systems, such as the City of Paso Robles, conceive of new programs, pathways, and
possibilities within the growing space economy.

An Economic Development Initiative
Aimed at Space
The City of Paso Robles is in San Luis Obispo
County, California, approximately halfway between
San Francisco and Los Angeles. This rural community, known for its economic activity in agriculture and viticulture, is undertaking an economic development
initiative aimed at diversifying its economy around the emerging commercial space industry. The city is the
second largest municipality in San Luis Obispo County, situated approximately 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean and thirty miles north of California Polytechnic
State University (Cal Poly). Cal Poly, with a top ranked aerospace engineering program, co-developed the
CubeSat standard that is used worldwide today.

APPENDIX A
An illustration of the horizontal
launch space business ecosystem that informed the selection of organizations for this study.

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Diversifying a Local Economy | 8
The City of Paso Robles is seeking approval from
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain a
launch site operator license, which would permit the
operation of horizontal launch space vehicles from the
Paso Robles Municipal Airport’s (KPRB) current airport runways. Additionally, the City is developing the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park
(PRSITP), which aims to establish business innovation
ecosystems that promote the development, transfer,
and commercialization of technology relevant to a
horizontal launch spaceport.

To support the advancement of the proposed Paso
Robles Spaceport and Paso Robles Space Innovation
and Technology Park, Cal Poly has partnered on a project, A Hub for Public-Private Partnership and Innovation: Connecting Cal Poly with the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park. Activities associated
with this project include support for the completion
of the FAA/AST Site Operators License (Spaceport
License Application); development of public-private
sector partnerships in the space and supporting industry ecosystems, including a visual framework of existing and potential industry partners mapped across the proposed innovation ecosystem; and the examination
of anticipated education and workforce development
needs within the targeted innovation ecosystem, including a high-level strategy for meeting those needs, which this study represents.

The Proposed Paso Robles Spaceport’s
Emphasis upon Education
In addition to diversifying the local economy
around the space industry and creating new job opportunities, a primary objective of the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport is to function as an educational hub.

This includes providing hands-on experiential learning
experiences in space-related activities for students
ranging from preschool to college and beyond. The
proposed Paso Robles Spaceport’s Educational Access
to Space Initiative would provide students access to a
spaceport with a dedicated focus to education, allowing students across the region and state to apply their coursework in real-world settings, and learn skills related to performing, for example, spacecraft integration, mission planning, and launch and on orbit operations
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 9
among other activities. The initiative is aimed at enhancing STEM education, democratizing space access, advancing scientific advancement, and promoting
public engagement with space activities.

Overview of Study
This study explores the education and workforce
development needs associated with the proposed
horizontal launch spaceport in the city of Paso Robles.

The global horizontal launch space sector is rapidly
developing, yet little research and information exists
to understand the current and anticipated workforce
development needs and opportunities of this growing
sector. Due to this lack of information, an exploratory qualitative research design was employed to investigate current and anticipated workforce needs.

The overarching research questions:
▶ What types of skillsets and jobs are horizontal launch and related industry organizations hiring for currently and/or anticipating hiring?
▶ What education and workforce development factors
contribute to the current and anticipated personnel
needs in the industry?
Methodology
To answer these research questions, an exploratory
qualitative research design was employed to investigate current and anticipated workforce needs. Exploratory qualitative research designs are useful when little has been studied or written about the topic or
population being studied (Creswell, 2009). Qualitative
research studies such as this help us explore a phenomenon and extend knowledge about a new topic (Merriam, 2009).

To explore this topic, individuals responsible for
the strategic workforce development and hiring decisions within their organizations were interviewed and asked to share their perspectives on current and anticipated education and workforce development needs associated with the emerging horizontal launch space
industry. The results from this study are not intended
to be generalizable nor to inform policy, but rather
serve as a heuristic model for understanding current
and anticipated education and workforce needs associated with this emerging industry in the city of Paso Robles, California.

Sampling Strategy
This exploratory qualitative research design
utilized purposeful sampling strategies. Purposeful
sampling allows us to identify and select individuals or groups of individuals that are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with the phenomenon of interest (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2011). In this case, the individuals interviewed were selected because
of their knowledge of the strategic hiring practices
of their company or organization. While we interview
individuals or groups of individuals, the unit of analysis is space industry organizations. Finally, it’s important to note that while the focus of this study is upon the
emerging horizontal launch space industry, many of
the organizations studied engage more broadly within
the space industry. Please refer to Appendix A for an
illustration of the horizontal launch space ecosystem
map that informed the selection of organizations for
this study.

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Diversifying a Local Economy | 10
To understand how perceptions about the industry
may differ across various types of organizations within the horizontal launch space sector, we interviewed two
organizations within each of the following organizational clusters:
▶ Launch Vehicle Provider
▶ Payload Provider
▶ Service Provider
▶ Satellite Operator
▶ Government Agency
Individuals responsible for the strategic workforce
development and hiring decisions within their organizations were invited to participate in the study. Given the small and nascent nature of the horizontal launch
space sector and the international scope of the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport, both domestic and international organizations were included in the sample.

The intent was to understand the types of skillsets and roles currently and/or anticipated to be in demand in
the horizontal launch space ecosystem, the education
and workforce development factors that may contribute to the supply and demand of skilled talent, and hiring managers’ experience and perspectives related
to filling these roles.

Data Collection
Data were gathered between October 2023 and
January 2024. In total, 11 space industry experts were
interviewed. They held roles such as CEO, Founder,
Director of Human Resources, and Business Development Manager. Each were selected for their specialized knowledge about hiring practices and workforce development needs within their organizations and/or
across the space industry. Organizations varied in size from small, emerging start-up companies to leaders in
their industry segment. For purposes of confidentiality, we do not reference organizations or individuals by
name. The perceptions of individuals interviewed here
may not represent all organizations within a given organizational cluster. Rather they are considered to be “instrumental cases” (Yin, 2014), or cases that we may
learn from in our study of education and workforce
development needs associated with the emerging
horizontal launch space industry.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted over
Zoom with space industry professionals employed
across the five industry segments identified above:

Launch Vehicle Provider, Payload Provider, Service
Provider, Satellite Operator and Government Agency.

Please see Appendix C for descriptions of these particular industry segments. Interviews ranged from 45 minutes to 1 hour. Participants were asked to describe
the space industry job market, the types of training
and skills in greatest demand, and their perceptions
of varying educational and workforce development
pathways available to people interested in working in
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 11
the horizontal launch and broader space industry. Participants were asked questions such as, “How would you describe the space industry job market generally?
Do jobs in the horizontal launch space industry differ, if at all, from other space industry jobs? Tell me about the types of skillsets currently in the highest demand? What types of education and/or workforce training
backgrounds do you look for in an ideal candidate?”
All interviews were recorded and automatically transcribed. Please see Appendix B for a complete list of the interview questions.

Data Analysis
To facilitate the coding and analysis of our data,
we utilized Dedoose, a web-based software program
for qualitative and mixed methods data management
and analysis. Data analysis began with a provisional
coding procedure, where transcripts were read and
assigned codes to segments of text relevant to our
research questions (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana,
2014). During this cycle of analysis, descriptive coding techniques were used to assign labels to the illustrative information gathered during the interviews. While this process was also analytical in nature, these codes were used to retrieve and categorize similar segments
so that the researcher may “quickly find, pull out, and cluster segments relating to a particular research questions, hypothesis, construct or theme” (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014, p. 72).

After the first cycle of coding (Saldana, 2013), we
reviewed the initial set of codes alongside the study
research questions. We then revised and consolidated
the codes into a set of categories we found useful for
organizing and analyzing our data across the participating organizations. To strengthen methodological integrity, former conceptions about the space industry
job market were suspended and challenged (Levitt,
Motulsky, Wertz, Morro, and Ponterotto, 2016), and
descriptive coding and organization-ordered matrices
were used to enable systematic comparisons across
the space industry organizations studied (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). Examples of these categories include “Hiring Practices and Issue”, “Skillsets”, and
“Technicians vs Engineers”. Please see appendix D for
a list of the codes. Appendix E provides a table listing the frequency of each code used.

Findings
In this section, we present our findings. To address
the first research question, we explored the general state of the space industry, including the types of roles and skillsets in greatest demand, as reported
by the space industry participants interviewed for this study. In the subsequent section, we explored various
education and workforce development factors that are
reported to contribute to the personnel needs facing
the industry.

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Diversifying a Local Economy | 12
State of the Industry
The professionals interviewed for this study described the space industry as thriving overall, characterized by low unemployment and substantial growth.

Employees of the two launch vehicle providers described healthy growth environments, with a Business Development Manager from one of the companies
commenting, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as good
as it is right now.” The CEO of a payload provider
concurred, “I would say for the last two years it’s been phenomenal. I mean, it’s been great for us.”
While everyone interviewed spoke of the space
industry as being generally healthy, some did acknowledge the impact of prior downturns and some necessary cooling within the current expansion. An engineer with a launch vehicle provider reported “It hasn’t been like that forever. Back on
the 90s, there was attrition. I
was hired in on one of these
ramp ups that [aerospace
company] had, but then
there was a couple of downturns while I was there.” A
participant with experience
in satellite development and the training of aerospace
professionals reported, “The unemployment rate is
very, very low, though even during the worst of times
of the great recession in 2008, the aerospace industry
was still very low in terms of unemployment. It was
mostly just people switching jobs.”
Several participants spoke about declining funding
from investors in recent years, and competition among
larger, established aerospace companies, though all
also remained positive about the overall state of the
industry including the state of current and future employment opportunities. The CEO of a payload provider company explained, “there was a huge amount of investment money flooding the market. But the investor money has dried out. We still have growth, there’s a lot of potential, but it’s not doubling every year,
right?” He continued, “it’s a healthy cycle to have the bubble burst. Find out what does and doesn’t work,
and pull back. But the market is still very competitive.

There is no question that a good engineer can find a
job instantly. Multiple job offerings.”
A Business Development
Manager with a launch vehicle
provider expressed a similar
positive outlook, particularly
regarding steady employment
opportunities, “You know, in the
past couple years, we’ve been
through a couple phases of having money or not having money and we’ve always had a ton of
open positions, just because we
have so much work to do.”
A new ‘commercial’ space race
The emergence of a “commercial” space race was
highlighted by several participants, who perceived a
sense of urgency in capitalizing on growing commercial opportunities. However, concerns were raised “...the market is still
very competitive. There
is no question that a
good engineer can find a
job instantly. Multiple
job offerings.”
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 13
about short-term hiring practices favoring experienced professionals over new graduates, potentially impacting the industry’s long-term workforce dynamics. Distinctions were also made between the “new aerospace” and “traditional aerospace” companies
in relation to this new space race, with several participants discussing the expansion of the industry beyond the established aerospace companies that have dominated for decades, and one participant discussing the potential for revolutionary technological change within the industry.

A Director of Human Resources for a launch vehicle provider reported, “to describe the space industry job market generally is a very big and complex question because you’ve got new aerospace, which is the sector we’re in and then you’ve got the traditional
aerospace sector, which is your more conservative,
highly structured institutionalized, large corporations.” An Aerospace consultant elaborated on the distinction
between new and traditional aerospace, arguing that
traditional aerospace companies, particularly those
that have been building commercial aircraft, are “very
safety focused in developing those systems, and they
carry that over into the way they approach space development too.” He continued, “then when you look at the new companies, they tend to be more, maybe
not quite as risk average. I mean, it’s not that they are disregarding safety by any sense of the word, but they
can simulate to a certain extent and then actually try
something and see how it works.”
These new aerospace approaches to innovation
carried over into the types of skillsets and mindsets
valued by these companies, with the Director of
Human Resources from a self-identifying new aerospace company reporting, “In a startup environment, we need people who can build and break and learn
and not be frightened of making mistakes.” Another
participant, who worked with higher education students, shared this enthusiasm for the current state of the industry, suggested that the industry was ripe for
groundbreaking change arguing, “We need that next
generation of technology. So, the next generation
propulsion engineers, the next source of talent for
that new revolution that is going to be key to getting
our industry to the same level as like, freight on the
ground or on the ocean or even in the air.”
However, the widespread sense of opportunities
was also argued to influence hiring practices that may
have longer term consequences for the industry, with
some companies making short-term decisions that
favor the hiring of more experienced employees over
new entrants to the workforce. The CEO of a service
provider explained,
The opportunity is now, and everyone is jumping
on the opportunity now, cause they’re not sure it’s
gonna be here 6 months from now. So, bringing in
new grads doesn’t help you with that financial equation, right? That’s just where the market is right now.

Every indication is the market’s going to continue in
this direction.

Roles and Skillsets in Demand
Horizontal Launch Sector
The consensus among participants interviewed
was that the job roles and skillsets required for horizontal launching of spaceplanes are not fundamentally different from those associated with vertical launch or other aspects of the broader space industry. However,
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 14
there was a recognition that horizontal launch technologies hold significant promise for the future growth and efficiency of the space industry. For example, an
aerospace consultant stated, “I think it’s really the
future for the majority of space activity” noting it’s fuel efficiency. He continued, “with vertical
launch vehicles,
it’s something like
90% of the payload
is devoted to just
getting that rocket to
space. On a horizontal launch vehicle
your using aerodynamic forces to help
you get up to high
enough altitude that
you can engage a rocket.”
Participants noted that roles such as aerospace,
electrical, and mechanical engineering would continue to be essential for supporting horizontal launch companies and activities. While there may be some
nuances in environmental conditions and operational
procedures, the core competencies required for space
launch operations were argued to remain consistent.

For example, when asked about the roles and skillsets
required to support horizontal launch companies and
activities, an aerospace consultant
said, “You’re looking
at the classical ones
you’d expect. You
know aerospace
engineering or aeronautical engineering,
electrical engineering, mechanical engineering. All of those things, are still gonna
play a role no matter
the type of launch.”
An engineer with a vehicle launch provider argued,
“They’re not going to be different. It might have some
different characteristics, but it is essentially the same people. It’s the same technology that you’re using.” A
satellite operator concurred,
I think that the fundamental problems of getting
something into space, whether you build a horizontal
launch or rocket are pretty similar. You still have all the electronics, payload management type work. They just have different environmental conditions.

A participant employed at a
vehicle launch provider summed
the shared sentiment up, “at
the end of the day, the types of
people and skills that you need
just really aren’t that different.

And, yeah, we’re just trying to
make a vehicle go to space.

That’s all.”
There was speculation about the potential transferability of skillsets from the aviation sector to horizontal launch activities, with an aerospace consultant suggesting that the similarities in operational procedures could facilitate a smoother transition for professionals with aviation-related backgrounds. He contemplated,
“Maybe it’s a little easier for horizontal launch because what you’re doing is also very similar to what’s done
right now in aviation. It’s a little closer to what they are learning when they go through A and P [Airframe and
Powerplant] school. They
aren’t learning that now,
but that’s probably not
as significant a leap as it
might be for somebody
trying to apply those
power plant skills to a
rocket engine.”
Overall, participants
expressed optimism
about the potential of
horizontal launch approaches to space, citing
advantages such as
increased accessibility, flexibility in launch locations, and potential costs savings. An aerospace consultant
argued, “Horizontal launch holds the most promise,”
and an engineer with a vehicle launch provider re-
“The opportunity is now, and
everyone is jumping on the
opportunity now, cause
they’re not sure it’s gonna be
here 6 months from now. So
bringing in new grads doesn’t
help you with that financial
equation, right?”
“I think that the fundamental
problems of getting something
into space, whether you build
a horizontal launch or rocket
are pretty similar. You still
have all the electronics,
payload management type
work. They just have different
environmental conditions.”
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 15
ported, “I asked our CEO if he was worried about the
competition, he said no because you’re limited on size.

Because you can’t keep designing bigger and bigger
planes to launch bigger and bigger rockets. There is
sort of an upper limit.” Another participant shared this sense of optimism towards
horizontal launch
approaches to
space,
To be able
to have a vehicle
that takes off
on a traditional
runway, from
any place in
the country,
any place in
the world, and
that can fly up
to space, does whatever its mission is in space and
returns through the atmosphere and lands at the traditional runway anywhere. I mean, it opens, it opens the door to a whole lot of things.

Core Space Industry Roles and Skillsets
With the consensus being that roles and skillsets
do not differ between horizontal and vertical approaches to space launch, the space industry participants turned their reflections toward core space industry skillsets in demand. To sum, the roles in highest demand encompass a diverse array of specialties, ranging from
engineering to data science, manufacturing, business
development, marketing and beyond. Participants
identified a critical need for skilled professionals across various disciplines to drive innovation and address the complex challenges of aerospace projects.

Engineering roles, spanning aeronautical, electrical, industrial, materials, mechanical, propulsion, software, and systems engineering, were consistently
highlighted as essential. Participants emphasized the
scarcity of qualified engineers and the need to pay
a premium for their expertise. Software engineering
emerged as a particularly sought-after skillset, alongside expertise in fluid dynamics, propulsion systems, and quality control. Data science, especially in the
fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), was also identified as crucial for optimizing aerospace operations and decision-making processes.

Additionally, there was a growing demand for material engineers who can push the boundaries of current material technology.

Among the core
roles being sought, a
CEO of a service provider reported, “It’s definitely engineering of all kinds. We’re all hiring for
the same kind of job.”
A satellite developer
reported, “I find that I
have to pay a lot more
for qualified engineers
than I do for other services.” Another satellite
developer added, “I am
getting more and more
attuned to the need for material engineers, so those
that understand new materials like chemists and that
sort of thing because we’re getting to the point where
we’re kind of at the limits of current material technology now and need to push towards that next thing.” An engineer with a launch vehicle provider reported
a need for, “software people, you need fluids and
prop people, systems engineers.” Another participant
noted, “we are forever looking for positions within the field of quality control. Folks, people who can understand different kinds of layouts and different kinds of ways to look at parts. Cause we’re really dealing with
some stuff that’s never been dealt with before, and
a lot of you know programming talent.” A service
provider, with a different niche, argued, “my highest
in-demand skillset is AI and ML. It’s data science. We
need those people, and everyone’s trying to get those
people.”
Beyond technical expertise, participants emphasized the importance of problem-solving, creative thinking, and effective communication skills, including the need to convey complex scientific concepts in
accessible ways, contributing to the overall success
and public perception of aerospace endeavors. For
example, an aerospace consultant reported, “We really
also need people in other areas of expertise, outside
“...to have a vehicle that takes off
on a traditional runway, from any
place in the country, any place in
the world, and that can fly up to
space, does whatever its mission
is in space and returns through
the atmosphere and lands at the
traditional runway anywhere...it
opens the door to a whole lot of
things.”
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 16
of science and engineering to tell that story. So, the
arts aspect of it. You know helping people be able to
visualize what’s going on out there and what they’re
seeing. I think all
of those things
play into the
long-term health
of the program,
and also just
helping to get
more people
interested, more
kids interested in
perusing those
kinds of education goals.”
The Director of Human Resources for a vehicle launch
provider noted, “At the end of the day, what we are
looking for are people who have been taught the basic
principles of engineering or manufacturing, but have
been encouraged in an academic environment to think
creatively with problem solving skills.”
A Demand for Engineers and Technicians
Across Company Profiles
When probed, participants discussed the specific
roles and skillsets described above. However, most
deliberated needs across the general categories of engineer vs. technician. They emphasized the indispensable roles of both engineers and technicians in driving innovation and facilitating production within the aerospace industry, highlighting a growing demand
for technicians. For example, a business development
manager emphasized the critical role of technicians in
translating engineering designs into tangible products, “Really novel new pieces are being manufactured, and
so it requires people who then can manufacture from
an engineer specification, something that has been
designed. So that’s sort of like the standard process.” An aerospace consultant concurred, “You need people
who can help you figure out how to take your idea and
turn it into reality. That’s really what a technician does.” Numerous participants echoed the sentiment of a
growing need for technicians, especially as businesses expand and the industry evolves. This sentiment was further corroborated by examples from different
sectors within aerospace, indicating a widespread recognition of the increasing demand for technician roles.

A satellite developer reported, “A lot of what we can
do can be built by engineers. But if we’re gonna get to the point where we’re proliferating a lot of our rockets and our satellites and taking advantage
of economies of scale, we’re
gonna need a larger technician
base.” An employee of another rapidly growing company
in the vehicle launch provider
sector reported, “We see more
urgency in the hiring of technicians than the engineers,” with an aerospace consultant explaining, “There is a difference between a startup or a company that is still conducting R&D and a company that is actually in production and
is commercialized.”
“At the end of the day, what
we are looking for are people
who have been taught the basic
principles of engineering or
manufacturing, but have been
encouraged in an academic
environment to think creatively
with problem solving skills.”
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 17
The CEO of a rapidly growing payload provider
outlined a strategic personnel approach, indicating a
shift towards a higher proportion of technicians in response to increased production demands: “The number we are going to have in the next 3 years is 30% engineers or people with higher education degrees, and then 70% of people that have professional training.

A career developed with 2 years of training and then
you go find a job.” However, it was emphasized that
these technician jobs represent highly specialized roles requiring specific skillsets to match the complexity of aerospace projects. For example, a satellite developer
reported, “I do need a large number of smart technicians that can go and look at control drawings, make the smart decisions on how to accomplish a certain
design and get it done for these bespoke kind of new
satellites that are, they’re almost one of a kind rather than the mass-produced types of things.” Another
CEO argued, “the space industry has high requirements for certain skills because we are making things that are difficult to make. They are one of a kind. This is difficult to do.” A CEO of
a start up company argued,
“You have a core team
of engineers that pretty
much do the R&D, but you
are going to have about
65 to 70 percent of your
workforce are technicians.

They machine, they analyze
processes, they do logistics. They mount things, do
procurement. I’m starting a
company from scratch, and
sometimes an engineer is
not what I need most.”
Education and Workforce Development
Opportunities and Challenges
Labor Market Shortages
A pervasive theme emerged regarding the challenges associated with hiring trained and qualified employees with these skillsets. Industry participants
expressed a struggle to find the right people, with
hiring efforts being described as a constant battle over the past few years. Participants note the difficulty of competing for engineers and specialists against industry giants, which are major draws for potential candidates. This intense competition was argued to create a highly competitive hiring landscape within the industry. For example, A CEO of a satellite
operator reported, “I would
say there are not enough people to hire. Hiring is constant.

For the last four years, it has
been a constant struggle to
find the right people.” A CEO
of a service provider said, “Everybody’s looking for the same kind of people. If you went on
[aerospace company’s] website, you’ll see the very same position descriptions as ours.”
A Director of Human Resources argued, “we’re all
looking for the same talent.”
Several participants discussed the challenges
associated with competing for talent among the larger,
established aerospace companies. A CEO of a payload
provider noted, “We are in a really tough spot competing for engineers. We have [company] and [company], that are a big draw. So, lots of competition. A lot.

Very very competitive.”
“A lot of what we can do
can be built by engineers.

But if we’re gonna get
to the point where we’re
proliferating a lot of our
rockets and our satellites
and taking advantage
of economies of scale,
we’re gonna need a larger
technician base.”
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 18
Moreover, participants expressed frustration with
the scarcity of candidates possessing the specific
expertise required for their projects. For example, a
lead engineer mentioned the aggressive interviewing
process that begins as soon as funds are secured, yet
finding candidates with the necessary specialized skills remains a significance challenge, “The minute we get
money, we start interviewing aggressively.

But there are so few candidates that specialize in the
fields that we need.” A particularly illustrative comment from a Director of Human Resources captures the daunting task of finding talent for cutting-edge
projects, “We are working towards designing things
that have never been built before for things we can’t
even imagine.”
The Need to Train and Induct New Entrants to
the Workforce
Space industry participants discussed a prevailing
trend among some companies that favored the hiring
of tenured employees over new entrants to the job
market. This preference for experienced professionals
presents challenges for younger individuals seeking
to break into the industry, as noted by several participants who described the difficulty of securing positions without prior aerospace ties. A CEO reported, “So it’s a robust job market right now. However, if you are a new grad, new entrant, and you don’t have any
ties to the aerospace industry, it’s almost like, you’re not gonna get in. That’s my experience.” A satellite
developer reported, “If I were to look at a traditional aerospace company, their workforce, when I go work
with them, tends to be an older set.” An aerospace
consultant elaborated, “Certainly when you look at
the traditional big space companies, I think they do
tend to hold on to their senior engineers. I don’t see
as many of them moving around, probably because
they’re making a pretty good paycheck there. And
they’re doing exciting and interesting things in those
companies, and they don’t necessarily feel the need to
move on.”
“we’re all looking for
the same talent.”
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Diversifying a Local Economy | 19
Despite these preferences for hiring experienced
professionals, there was also a recognition of the need to cultivate a pipeline of new talent to address future workforce shortages. Concerns were raised about the
impending retirement of seasoned professions and the
lack of mid-level professionals to fill the gap. A CEO of a service provider argued,
It’s part of our diversity issues. You know, we grow
this group of people into senior engineers. They’re all gonna retire. I mean, its life, right? Nobody’s gonna
work for 60 years. That’s doesn’t happen, though it’s
creating new problems for the industry. If we don’t
deal with it, we’re not gonna have those seasoned
people in 20
years, right?
Because we’re not
bringing enough
new people in.

Another
participant said,
“I think there’s
an imbalance in
terms of, there’s
a rush to get new
products to market. So, everybody wants experienced
people because they’re gonna get them there quicker.

When my opinion is, we [should] spend a little time
opening up some entry level positions. So, we get that
pipeline flowing.”
While some described a preference to hire more
experienced employees, a CEO of a satellite operator
said “The more experienced persons are more difficult
“You have to be deliberate about
carving out scope and maybe
understanding where you can take a
little risk, bring in some new grads,
teach them, and help them get up
to speed so they can go faster 2, 3
years from now.”
to find and to keep. At least that’s the case in [country] because it’s a nascent industry and there aren’t many
people with the experience.” And a CEO of a payload
provider company wished he could hire more mid-level professionals. He argued, “We have few mid-careers. Right now, it’s really me and then I have 25 kids who are a generation younger than me. We need more
middle level professionals, and that has been difficult.” In response to these gaps, a CEO of a service provider contemplated how to shift hiring and training
practices to better prepare the newer entrants and
to meet growing employment demands, “You have
to be deliberate about carving out scope and maybe
understanding where you can take a little risk, bring in some new grads, teach them, and help them get up to
speed so they can go faster 2, 3 years from now.”
Amidst these challenges, there was a sense of
optimism about the next generation of aerospace professionals. Participants expressed enthusiasm for the potential of new entrants to quickly learn and adapt,
highlighting the importance of investing in training
and development programs to nurture emerging
talent. For example, a CEO agreed that “training is always an issue as a startup. You always want to go fast.

You don’t want to necessarily take the time to train”,
though he argued, “but people right out of college
tend to learn quickly.” A satellite developer argued, “I would say that in my experience we have a very
aging population of
experts, and they were
from the time when
space and the Cold War
was really happening.

And they have done
phenomenal things. But
we’re ripe for that next
generation. And this is,
this is the time. I’m really excited to see this generation. I wish I could live with this generation.” Uncertainty about Vocational and Apprenticeship Programs Aerospace industry participants discussed the critical needs for vocationally trained technicians to bridge the gap between engineering designs and practical
implementation. However, entrenched biases and misAttachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 20
conceptions about these roles and their training persist, hindering efforts to fully harness their potential.

For example, an aerospace consultant reported, “What
I’ve heard consistently in the workforce discussions
is that there’s a real demand for more of the Vo-tech
types. So, we need people who can actually take what
the engineers come up with and turn it into reality
and then repair it. There just aren’t enough of those
people”. Yet conceptions about inherent differences
between engineers and technicians may challenge
efforts to expand technician roles. A CEO claimed,
“It’s easier for engineers to start fresh. It’s harder for technicians to start fresh,” while another participant
reported, “I prefer to hire master technicians, but that also creates a difficulty because young engineers will
not know how to work with the master technicians.”
Another participant reported “apprenticeships could
be good for technicians, but somebody has to be willing to work in manufacturing day in and day out.” While the demand for skilled technicians is evident, many industry participants remain unaware or uncertain about vocational training programs. Some
express tepid enthusiasm or frustration with their
attempts to recruit from these programs, citing difficulties in finding suitable candidates or concerns about cultural fit. One CEO of a payload provider had heard
of a nearby program that was funded by a grant that
gave potential technicians “community college and
industry experience, but we just didn’t get any good
candidates. So, I know they are there. I just don’t know how to pick them.” When asked if their company has
hired vocationally or apprenticeship trained employees, another participant said, “We have not succeeded, though we haven’t really tried that hard. But we will have to do it if we want to grow technicians.”
Another CEO said, “There is really no, like no college
we can go to. There are specialized programs, people
who can maintain equipment and install you know
plumbing, but we haven’t really found a way to recruit
them.” Another participant had questions about apprenticeship programs in his field, and apprehension about cultural fit, “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what
apprenticeship training means for software products.

If that means like a web software development boot
camp, then yes, but it would have to depend a lot
on well, cultural, a cultural fit is always key. So if that person is willing to jump in and learn, and I feel like they have that personality that’s cultural fit for us, then I wouldn’t have a problem hiring them out of a boot
camp. But I would have to get that sense out of the
interview.”
Despite these challenges, some industry participants highlighted success stories of technicians trained through apprenticeship programs. A participant with
a payload provider described hiring one of his top
programmers from a vocational training program,
“A gentleman who is out on our floor, who is one of
our best programmers, he started his education in
high school, did two years, I believe, in a vocational
program in high school, then went on and did a fouryear trade school. He used his vocational school earn credits towards that trade school education, and then
went to do on the job training for a certain amount of
hours, and then a certain amount of hours to become
a fully certified journeyman.” A company outside of
the United States also described positive experiences
with apprenticeship programs, “I think it does create
a more balanced technician to have both the practical
experience and the tech qualification. I’ve recently
hired two young apprentices who completed their apprenticeship training, one in [location] and one in [location], where they have come out of very large Rolls Royce style factories where they have very structured
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 21
apprenticeship programs. But what struck me about
both of them was their curiosity, their drive to learn, their interest in how things work and fit together. That’s why I hired both of them and brought them halfway
around the world.”
However, shifting mindsets about technician roles
is not without its obstacles. Technician roles were
described to be less prestigious than engineering
positions, leading aspiring technicians to doubt their
acceptance within the industry. For example, a Director of Human Resources reported. “It’s gotta be seen as a respectable profession, and I think somewhere
in the noise of that elitism, a lot of the people I’ve
spoken to who have applied for apprenticeship roles
are so excited to be talking to an aerospace company,
because they will say ‘I didn’t think you’d be interested in me.’” A United States based participant argued, “I
think something we’ve lost in this country is this idea of apprenticeships. It would be incredibly helpful because then they’re coming in and they don’t just bring their own experience, they bring the experience of the
person they’ve apprenticed to, and that’s gonna be a
lot more easy to accept than it is for the person who
just walks in the door out of technical school.”
Diversifying the Profession
Issues related to diversifying the industry emerged
and were often framed as important opportunities.

Efforts to increase diversity include initiatives targeting high schools to encourage interest in engineering and science among underrepresented groups. Solutions discussed include using diversity metrics to track progress and incentivizing the hiring of diverse candidates, particular among new entrants to the workforce.

Overall, there is recognition of the need for proactive measures to address diversity challenges within the
industry.

A Human Resources Director with a vehicle launch
provider explained, “If we don’t find enough men,
then we gotta get more women in. We did it during
the Second World War. There’s no reason we can’t go
back.” An aerospace consultant argued, “One thing
that has started to happen is that there are programs
that reach down into the high schools and start getting people interested. You know, they’re saying, we’re not
seeing as many women, for example, that are becoming aerospace engineers or electrical engineers, and so they are going into these schools and trying to get
people excited about engineering and science.”
A couple solutions were discussed including
utilizing diversity metrics and increasing the hire of
new entrants to the workforce. As a CEO of a service
provider explained,
We already know the diversity of the pool of the
people that we have already, that you know have 10 to
30 year’s experience. That is kind of set. So if we were to do something like measure how many new grad
positions are you opening versus how many position
do you have? What’s that percentage? How many
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 22
people are you bringing in that bring diversity to those new positions? So making it a little more public and
saying, ‘who’s really contributing to growing the pool
of candidates?
When asked about solutions to diversity challenges in the industry, another participant replied, “it’s a great question. Our industry has never been fantastic
in this area. My opinion? What’s it gonna take? I think it’s gonna take incentives.”
Increasing Experiential Learning
and Certification Opportunities.

When space industry participants were asked what
they would change about the way potential employees
were prepared for their jobs, two themes emerged:
a desire for more experiential learning opportunities
within both vocational and university based educational contexts, and the development of relevant certifications that would signal to employers that an
employee had mastered the skillsets necessary for the
role. For example, a CEO of a service provider said, “I think if I was gonna make any kind of change, I think
it would be having more hands-on understanding as
to what you’re doing in the real world as opposed to
just an idea of how thing go. More experience in the
field.” This applied to both engineering and technician roles. A founder of a startup company said, “we hire
bachelor’s that have very good training and we especially look at project experience. Do they have a skills portfolio? At the technician level, we hire those with
at least 5 years’ experience, and they have developed
hands-on skills.” Another company CEO said, “I think
that it is more important to have practical experience
than a degree, though of course, the degree opens up
different doors and windows.” The Director of Human
Resources for a vehicle launch provider argued, “From
a business perspective, the students need to know use
cases. They need to know real world business ideas
that are happening. What I’m talking about is a mindset where they need to be exposed to what’s going on in industry, and they need to be exposed early on
because then they can also start looking at some of
the problems.” She wished that more training and
education programs made space for risk taking and
failure, noting “In an academic environment, you are
not allowed to admit that you have failed.”
Others discussed the benefit of more certification
programs that would signal mastery of skills relevant to the role. For example, a lead engineer with a service
provider said, “It would help knowing that somebody
has, like you know, proficiency in doing something so
there’s less ramp up when we hire them.” Another participant working at a vehicle launch provider company noted, “It would be helpful if we hire somebody who is
also trained to a level or has some certification under their belt.”
Additionally, there was a call for greater collaboration between industry and educational institutions with suggestions for industry involvement in training programs and partnerships with universities and trade schools. Examples were provided of companies
already engaging in such collaboration to support the
development of the industry. When discussing certification programs, a CEO said, “I think we would need to work directly with the trade schools, to involve us
in the training.” One company described a model
for doing this. His company already works with other
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 23
companies to support the development of the industry “Our manufacturing manager and I went down to [aerospace company] to do a presentation on the
future of manufacturing and engineering and how this
relationship is growing in the future. Just to help some of their engineers understand the challenge in the
manufacturing sector for some of the designs that are
coming down the pipe. We could do that with universities.” Discussion
These findings underscore the thriving state of the
space industry, marked by robust economic conditions, low unemployment rates, and significant growth opportunities. However, this growth has brought forth
challenges in terms of filling job vacancies as well
as concerns about the future pipeline of skilled professionals. These concerns were driven, in part, by a sense of urgency in response to expanding commercial
opportunities, which prompted some organizations to
prioritize hiring experienced professionals over developing new talent. Given the impending retirement of a sizable portion of the current workforce, these findings emphasize the need for strategic workforce development initiatives to ensure the industry’s long-term workforce sustainability.

Addressing the uncertainties surrounding vocational training pathways, industry participants stressed the importance of collaboration between industry and
higher education institutions. The proximity of leading community colleges to the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport presents a unique opportunity for co-developing training programs aligned with the needs of the space industry. These initiatives have the potential to support the burgeoning Central Coast space economy,
including Vandenberg Space Force Base and various
commercial space companies in the region. Such
activities may not only address workforce shortages
but also improve awareness, perception, and diversity
within the industry.

The proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and Paso
Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park holds
important relevance for the Central Coast space region. The establishment of vocational training facilities and programs can support the industry’s pressing
need for skilled professionals and foster collaboration between industry stakeholders and educational institutions. By providing targeted training programs
and certifications, these efforts may contribute to the growth and diversification of the space industry while
enhancing the region’s economic development efforts.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 24
Limitations and Suggestions for
Future Research
While efforts were made to include participants
from various industry clusters, the perceptions and
experiences shared by the individuals interviewed may
not fully represent the diverse range of organizations
within the space industry. Future studies would benefit from including a broader spectrum of organizations
within the industry.

To address these limitations and further explore
the nuances of education and workforce development needs within the space industry, future research endeavors should consider employing a survey-based
approach. Informed by the themes that emerged from
this study, such a methodology would enable researchers to gather data from a larger and more diverse sample of companies, allowing for a comprehensive
examination of these themes across company contexts.

This study focused upon the perceptions of space
industry professionals. Future studies should also
consider the perceptions of educators and students
regarding new training and vocational programs.

By incorporating multiple perspectives, cross-sector
stakeholders can gain a more holistic understanding of
the challenges and opportunities in preparing the next
generation of space industry professionals.

Conclusion
This research study sheds light on the education
and workforce development opportunities associated
with the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport and the
Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park.

Commissioned by the City of Paso Robles, this study
aimed to inform regional initiatives and collaborations to support the burgeoning space industry in the area.

The findings underscore the promising economic
prospects offered by the space sector, with participants describing a flourishing industry characterized by low unemployment rates and sustained growth.

However, challenges such as filling job vacancies and
concerns about workforce preparation were also identified, emphasizing the need for strategic investments in education and training.

The study highlights calls for greater collaboration between industry and educational institutions, as well as the potential of developing vocational and
apprenticeship programs. Leveraging existing aviation
training programs and partnerships with community
colleges may help to facilitate the development of
specialized training pathways to meet industry needs.

Moving forward, the City of Paso Robles is advised
to consider funding dedicated positions focused on
spaceport development activities and to collaborate
with various stakeholders in the development of space
education and training programs. By investing in education, training, and infrastructure, Paso Robles can position itself as a hub for space innovation, driving
economic growth and prosperity for the region. As an
aerospace consultant interviewed for this study remarked, As people started developing commercial uses for
aircraft and military uses for aircraft, you see airports popping up all over the place. And one of things that
you see with every airport everywhere is that it has
a positive impact on its community. It’s an economic
driver in the community. I think that’s the same thing
that you’ll see with spaceports. Even though there
aren’t many spaceports right now, the unifying factor
is that the community sees it as an opportunity, and
it brings another level of economic impact into those
communities. It draws technical jobs into the area,
and it bring interesting and exciting technologies that opens the doors to a lot of new things.

An aerial view of the Paso Robles Airport (KPRB).

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 25

APPENDIX A
(see page 7)

APPENDIX B
Interview Protocol
▶ Tell me a little about your background as a [job title/ role]…
▶ Tell me about your company and the niche you fill in
the space industry?
▶ What other types of companies do you collaborate
with or rely upon within the industry?
▶ How would you describe the space industry job
market generally? [Probe: Are there adequate
numbers of applicants to choose from when filling a
position?]. How would you describe the horizontal
launch job market specifically? [Probe: Do jobs in
the horizontal launch space differ, if at all, from other space-related industries? If so, how?].
▶ Tell me about the types of jobs your company is
hiring for currently? What, if any, new roles do you
anticipate hiring for in the future?
▶ What skillsets are currently in the highest demand?
How, if at all, do you envision high-demand skillsets
changing as your organization and/or the industry
evolves?
▶ What types of educational and/or workforce training
backgrounds do you look for in an ideal candidate?
▶ If you were to estimate the number of jobs requiring
a BA degree or higher versus the number of jobs
that require job-based training or certification, how
would the distribution fall at your company currently? How, if at all, do you see that distribution changing in the future? Why? ▶ Among those with college degrees, are there degrees or specific college training that you particularly seek out? Which ones?/Why/why not? Which subject
areas do you anticipate being in the highest demand
in the coming years?
▶ What, if any, types of non-college degree training
do/have you sought out? Has your company ever
utilized apprenticeship programs or hired apprenticeship-trained employees? If not, is this a training pathway your company has ever considered? Why/
why not?
▶ Thinking back on your experiences filling job positions, what are some of the issues/dilemmas that you faced? [Probe: What are some of the barriers, if any,
to recruiting/hiring skilled talent?].
▶ Lastly, if you could change anything about the way
potential employees were prepared for their jobs,
what would you change?
▶ What other things do you think we should know, or
think more about, as we continue to learn about the
space industry job market and potential education
and workforce pathways to employment?
Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 26

APPENDIX C
Industry Cluster Description
Vehicle Launch Providers
Vehicle launch providers serve as the backbone of
a horizontal launch spaceport, essential for actualizing its purpose. Their dynamic innovations not only enable
space access but also offer invaluable educational experiences, allowing the spaceport to serve as a living classroom for firsthand observation of cutting-edge
systems and technologies. Without these providers,
the spaceport would remain dormant, missing out on
the pulsating lifeblood that propels it into the future.

Launch Services
Launch services play a pivotal role in orchestrating
the intricate process of preparing, fueling, and launching vehicles. The expertise within this industry is essential for executing seamless missions, optimizing payload capacity, and ensuring precise trajectory, thereby maximizing the spaceport’s operational efficiency.

Without these services, the spaceport would lack the
choreography needed to successfully establish itself as a thriving hub for space innovation and technology.

Payload Provider
Payload providers play a crucial role in transforming a horizontal launch spaceport into an educational hub by facilitating the deployment of diverse payloads.

These payloads, ranging from scientific instruments
to satellites, become windows to the heights of the
atmosphere and space, offering insights into weather
patterns, Earth observation, and celestial phenomena.

The quest is not just about reaching new heights but
understanding how to design and craft payloads that
endure and thrive in environments beyond our terrestrial familiarity, fostering innovation and exploration at the forefront of space science and technology.

Satellite Operator
Through seamless collaboration with launch service providers, they ensure the precise positioning of satellites, expanding communication networks, Earth
observation capabilities, and scientific research endeavors. Satellite operators not only drive the spaceport’s economic viability but also propel the world into an era of interconnectedness and information dissemination from the vantage point of space.

Government Agency
Government agencies serve as the bedrock of
a horizontal launch spaceport, providing regulatory frameworks, oversight, and strategic direction.

Through collaborations with spaceport authorities,
these agencies ensure compliance with safety standards, environmental regulations, and national security protocols, fostering a secure and responsible launch
environment.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 27
References
Aerospace Industries Association, (2023), On the
radar: Evolving workforce and aerospace and defense
firm needs. https://www.aia-aerospace.org/wp-content/uploads/PwC-_-AIA_-Workforce-Study_051223. pdf
Burleson, C. & Kozak, B. (2020). The Planned
Conversation of Airports to Spaceports in the United
States. Space Policy, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
spacepol.2020.101362
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Creswell JW & Plano Clark VL. Designing and conducting mixed method research. 2nd Sage; Thousand Oaks, CA: 2011.

Deloitte Space. (2023). Spaceports of the future.

Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/
dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consulting/us-spaceports-of-the-future.pdf FAA, 2023. COMSTAC STEM Working Group
Draft Report. STEM education needs for the FAA and
Commercial Space Industry. https://www.faa.gov/media/31161 Forbes, 2023. The commercial space industry, led
by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is expected to blast off with
41% growth over the next 5 years
https://fortune.com/2023/07/24/space-industry-revenue-growth-five-years/ Levitt, H. M., Motulsky, S. L., Wertz, F. J., Morrow,
S. L., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2016). Recommendations
for Designing and Reviewing Qualitative Research in
Psychology: Promoting Methodological Integrity. Qualitative Psychology. Advance online publication. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037/qup0000082
Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide
to design and implementation—Revised and expanded from Qualitative research and case study applications in education, 2nd Edition (1998). San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass.

Miles, M. B., Huberman A. M., & Saldana, J.
(2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Saldana, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage.

Seedhouse, E. (2016). XCOR, Developing the
Next Generation Spaceplane (1st ed. 2016.). Springer
International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
3-319-26112-6
Seedhouse, E. (2017). Spaceports: A Definition
and Brief History. In Spaceports Around the World, A
Global Growth Industry (pp. 13–31). Springer International Publishing AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 319-46846-4_2
Space Foundation. (2022). Is the space industry
growing? Retrieved from https://cie.spacefoundation.
org/is-the-space-industry-growing/
White House National Science and Technology
Council (2022), The Interagency Roadmap to Support Space-Related STEM Education Workforce, National Science and Technology Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy, September 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/09-2022-Interagency-Roadmap-to-Support-Space-Related-STEM-Education-and-Workforce. pdf
Yin, R. (2014). Case study research design and
methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 28
Acknowledgments
We extend our gratitude to the professionals
within the space industry who generously dedicated their time and shared their expertise during the course of this study. Their insights and perspectives
have greatly enriched our understanding of the
complex landscape surrounding the development of
spaceports and the associated workforce needs.

Additionally, we would like to express our
appreciation to the dedicated team of cross-disciplinary Cal Poly students who contributed their skills and passion to the “A Hub for Public-Private Partnership and Innovation: Connecting Cal Poly with the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology
Park” project. Their hard work, creativity, and commitment were instrumental in advancing the goals of this project, which was commissioned by the City of
Paso Robles.

We are grateful to all individuals and entities involved in this endeavor for their support, collaboration, and
contributions, which have been instrumental in shaping
the outcomes of this study and laying the foundation for future research associated with education and workforce development opportunities in space innovation and technology.

Oak trees sit in a field as the sun sets in Paso Robles, CA.

Attachment 2

Diversifying a Local Economy | 29
Diversifying a local Economy:

An examination of education and workforce development
opportunities associated with a city-owned spaceport
February 2024
Attachment 2

Cal Poly Digital Transformation Hub:

Paso Robles Space Innovation and Technology Park
Business
Ecosystem
Development
Attachment 3

Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 3 Research Process and Timeline................................................................................. 4 Research Methodology ................................................................................................ 5 Index of Internal Business Partners .......................................................................... 7 Outreach ........................................................................................................................8 Attachment 3

Problem Statement
Develop, map, and grow public-private sector partnerships for technology and innovation in the horizontal launch space ecosystem.

Business ecosystem map: Which sectors and industries support the development of the Paso Robles Space Innovation and Tech Park? Attachment 3

Research Process and Timeline






















































































































1 Internal business document

1.1 Create template for business
partnership research

1.2 Research existing partners

1.3 Research companies that hire Cal
Poly students

1.4 Explore additional potential
companies
2 Internal Business Ecosystem Mapping

2.1 Logos for internal companies

2.2 Companies that hire Cal Poly
students

2.3 Include additional companies
3 External Business Ecosystem Mapping

3.1 Examine sectors and industries

3.2 Develop interactive map for
website
4 Communication pieces to support
website development

4.1 Align language

4.2 Design layout

4.3 Develop prototype
5 Review
 












































 

 






Attachment 3

Research Methodology
Business Ecosystem Mapping
Version 1

Initial mapping of horizontal launch spaceport
industry and sectors.

Includes sector classifications with descriptions.

No companies identified.

Version 2

Identify existing and potential industry
partners coded by engagement level.

Version 3

Revision of version of V1, V2, to
reflect Paso Robles’ specific
spaceport operations. Identify
specific industries and sectors that
align most closely with rapid
turnaround launch models suitable
for testing, research, and supporting
projects aimed at enabling
educational access to space.

Describe function and companies involved across sectors and industry areas.

Attachment 3

Version 4

Reformat map to reflect Version 1 map style.

Includes matured conceptualization of relevent
industries and sectors. Presented to Paso Robles
City Council 8/15/23.

Version 5

Identification and description of
Spaceport Operator
responsibilities, including financial
considerations.

See Appendix B for Business
Ecosystem Maps
Attachment 3

Index of Internal Business Partners

Create master list of all companies related to or potentially related to Paso Robles Spaceport Operations.

Include company descriptions, products and services, present level of involvement with the Paso Spaceport, contact information, and notes from meetings/research.
20 companies identified and researched (See Appendix A for complete list as of 8/17/23) Attachment 3

Outreach
Business Ecosystem Development

Email introductions to potential partners and companies interested in Paso Robles Spaceport (e.g. Terran, Maverick, White Fox, Maxar)

Meeting with Frontier Propulsion (interest in vacuum testing stand and research opportunities with Cal Poly)

Meeting with PlanetScape AI founder to explain Paso spaceport and their potential involvement.

Meeting with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to discuss Paso Robles Spaceport and Innovation Technology Park.

Paso City Council Presentations

Presented at Paso Robles City Council meetings on 8/15/23 and 5/16/23
Introduced business ecosystem mapping relevant to the Paso Robles Spaceport Cal Poly CubeSat Conference

Presented at CubeSat Conference and managed Paso Robles Spaceport booth.

Attachment 3

UARX
Status: Intent
Current Location: Spain
Category: Launch and Deployment
Description:

UARX provides in-space transportation services to non traditional destinations, from LEO to moon and deep space. Consistently launch CubeSats, PocketQubes, SmallSats, Hosted Payloads. They have a variety of deployment solutions for customers orbital needs.

Products:

TOM: To Orbit Mission
Highly configurable vehicle comprised of several satellite deployers and a highly reliable sequencer.

OSSIE: Orbit Solutions to Simplify injection and Exploration Allows the precise injection of the spacecraft in non-traditional Earth orbits, as well as orbits around the Moon and trajectories to Deep Space.

RAMI: Reliable and Advanced Mission Injector:

Provides advanced satellite deployment with redundant actuation liens and optional ability to interface with CubeSat to charge and communicate SAURON: Separation System
The best separation system in terms of mass ratio. Serration ring built for small sats that require a standard reliable 15” interface to a launch vehicle.

LOLA: Landing Opportunities for Lunar Activities
(R&D) Lander for up to 100kg.

LUCAS: Lunar Cargo Services
(R&D) Will allow transporting of 1000kg to moon orbit. Adaptable orbiter spacecraft Engineering Services
MISC
Contact:

Yanina Hallak and Andrés Villa, Co-Founders & Cal Poly Alumni Other: UARX Space is drawn to Paso Robles Spaceport’s emphasis upon being a solution for international companies
Attachment 3

Dawn Aerospace
Status: Intent
Current Location: New Zealand
Category: Launch Vehicle Provider
Description:

Provide two main services, reliable and custom satellite propulsion and horizontal space launch.

Full-service partner based out of New Zealand.

Products:

MK II AURORA: Take off horizontally, fly a parabolic trajectory at Mach 3+, and glide back to a horizontal landing at the originating site or downrange. The vehicles 3U volume can contain and expose payloads in the upper atmosphere.

MK III (R&D): Bigger and better.

CUBEDRIVE: Bolt-on collision avoidance kits for ESPA-class satellites and CubeSat propulsion systems. Each CubeDrive includes a B1 thruster, tanks, valves, and control electronics.

SATDRIVE: Turn-key propulsion systems for 30 kg to 500+ kg satellites. Through standardized interfaces and flexible form factors, we deliver purpose- built systems — fast.

B1 THRUSTER: Available in various form factors, the B1 thruster is currently utilized as the central thruster in Dawns CubeDrive propulsion modules and as a modular building block within Dawn's turn-key SatDrive systems.

B20 THRUSTER: The B20 thruster assembly includes the thruster body, valves, and control electronics. The thruster body is additively manufactured as a single structure using Inconel 718 and includes the injector, combustion chamber, and nozzle.

Contact:

Khaki Rodway, Spaceplane Sales & Operations Director - USA Other:

Attachment 3

Stellar Exploration
Status: Intent
Current Location: San Luis Obispo
Category: Componentry and Services
Description:

High-quality aerospace solutions for military, civil and commercial customers. Stellar Exploration has delivered several nanosatellite propulsion, power, and RF tracking subsystems. Has rich experience in satellite integration, solid rocket propulsion, and more Products:

POWER SUBSYSTEM: High peak current with long lifetime (>3 years), at low unit cost. Includes redundant lithium-ion modules with
dedicated balancing and control for each string. Can
provide up to 5 kW peak power for 90 seconds every
orbit, with the projected lifetime exceeding three years.

NANO SATELLITE MONO
& BIPROPELLANT PROPULSION: Miniaturized hypergolic bipropellant thruster. It provides 3 N of thrust with 285 sec specific impulse. The propellant is pressurized with gear pumps, allowing for precise
propellant metering and low pressure tank design.

PASSIVE NANO SATELLITE
TRACKING AND TELEMETRY TAG: Truly low-cost passive device similar to a RFID tag that can be attached to all small satellites. can
communicate satellite telemetry, no risk to host satellite and range safety, and relies on passive energy harvesting and thus requires no harnessing, deployment or release
switches.

Contact:

Thomas Svitek, President
Other:

Attachment 3

Vector Space Biosciences
Status: Expressed Interest
Current Location: La Jolla, CA
Category: Data Platform
Description:

Launch biological CubeSats for purpose of generating data related to microgravity and radiation.

In collaboration with our scientific labs, we use advanced language modeling and a network of scientific data engineering pipelines to produce datasets that accelerate the probability of discoveries connected to stressors and countermeasures that protect and repair the human body during spaceflight and on the ground in the form of precision medicine for all humankind.

Products:

Specifically, we aim to initially advance space biosciences research related to the areas of dynamic reciprocity, the ECM and blood microenvironment related to the brain ECM, exosomic cargo analysis, dormant tumor cells (DTCs), atrogenes, cardiolipin (CL) and genes/proteins related to human aging including OPA1 and NME4 along with the NDPK family of proteins including NDPK-A which is involved in Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ), a primary pathway for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) which can be caused by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and heavy ion, high-charge, high-energy particles (HZEs).

Additional efforts in language modeling in the context of space biosciences include developing models to match protein and RNA sequences for similarity with new or foreign sequences resulting in advanced relationship networks between sequences.

Contact:

Other:

Cal Poly and Paso Robles team met Vector Space Business at CubeSat Conference Attachment 3

Nanoracks
Status: Expressed Interest
Current Location: Houston, Tx
Category: Service Provider
Description:

Nanoracks started as a payload provider to ISS and built the first commercially independent space business. However, its intention always was to grow Nanoracks into the premier supplier of systems and capabilities that would enable a truly commercially viable LEO economy. Now that transportation for humans and cargo is becoming more routine, they are working to develop multiple in-space destinations. Provide both space systems and payload services.

Products:

STARLAB: The first continuously crewed, free-flying, commercial space station to (2028) serve NASA and space agencies around the globe.

BISHOP AIRLOCK: First permanent, commercial addition to the International Space Station (ISS) infrastructure. 5x the volume that can be moved in and out of the Space Station.

OUTPOST: Re-purpose in-space hardware (space junk) and turn it into Outposts – agile autonomous space platforms ideal for technology development and test. Infrastructure-as-a-service in space, democratizing access while prioritizing orbital sustainability. Mission Extension Kit (MEK), a hardware solution that provides power, pointing, data-handling, and communications for the Outpost - becomes the brains and heartbeat of the now-repurposed upper stage, instead of it burning up.

SATELLITE LAUNCH: 300+ smalls into orbit via ISS Launch, Above ISS Launch, Rideshare Satellite Launch
PAYLOAD HOSTING: Allow customer hardware to be mounted via ISS External Hosting and Bishop Hosting

MICROGRAVITY
RESEARCH: Simplified the interface to complex in-space research hardware and platforms.

Contact:

Cal Poly and Paso Robles team introduced to Nanoracks at CubeSat Conference Other: May consider providing services to companies in Paso from their current location.

Attachment 3

Planet Scape Ai
Status: In communication (Interested)
Current Location: Unknown
Category: Service Provider
Description:

We enable real-time decision making through constant broad area observation using a range of commercially available data sources. Our rapid analysis is fueled by applying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to more accurately identify and interpret signals in spatiotemporal data.

Products:

PlanetScape Ai is currently supporting and expanding the application of our technology to influence global humanitarian, human rights, security, and environmental conservation policies and activities.

Contact:

Andrew Marx, Founder & Chief Scientist
Other:

Attachment 3

Gran Systems
Status: Intent
Current Location: Taiwan
Category: Launch and Deployment
Description:

Gran Systems serves as a System Integration, Angel Investments, Think Tank, Market Research, and multi-dimensional company involving in new space, semiconductor equipment, precision machinery, medical equipment, makerspace industries.

Products:

Selected services and products include:

DEPLOYER TEST FIXTURE FOR CUBESATS

MASS PRODUCED CUBESAT BUS

SPACE EDUCATION

THERMAL VACUUM CHAMBERS
3D HELMHOLTZ COILS

PLASMA VACUUM SEAL

MICRO SPECTROMETER

SOUND IMAGING EQUIPMENT MICRO COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS / SPACE SERVICES

MANUFACTURING SERVICES
Contact:

Kuang-Han Ke, Chairman
Other:

Current working relationship with Cal Poly CubeSat Club helping to provide launch services.

Attachment 3

Bowcheck
Status: Expressed Interest
Current Location: Spain
Category: Launch and Deployment
Description:

Cal Poly and Paso Robles team met Bowcheck at CubeSat Conference Products: Blockchain related business
Contact:

Other:

Company at start-up stage of development
Attachment 3

Wagner Star Industries
Status: Intent
Current Location: Tampa, Florida
Category: Launch Vehicle Provider
Description:

Quetzalcóatl Spaceplane Program are Reusable HTHL Spaceplane Drones which can take off from any commercial airport runway & ferry satellites and/or cargo "to or from" space at $5 MM.

Cargo Owners & Operators will no longer suffer from extensive risks associated with in space ops and maintenance.

Products:

Quetzalcóatl:
 Avionics:
 Remove Environmental Control Systems (ECS)
 Develop and Integrate Drone Pilot System into area formerly for Manned Pilot  Intersync and Develop Ground Station from NASA Flight SIM for Drone Pilot Station
 Propulsion:
 Finish Additional Motors for Demonstration
 Cargo:
 Build out Cargo Area for Testbedding Payloads
 Spaceplane Haul:
 Complete Conversion of Incomplete Spaceplane to a Spaceplane Drone & begin Testing Stage of Phase 1: Ground Tests, Glide Tests, First Flight Tests Contact:

Other:

Purchased IP for their space plane from a failed company.

Attachment 3

Maverick Space Systems
Status: Researched
Current Location: San Luis Obispo
Category: Launch Services
Description:

Maverick seems like a flexible and agile launch services and support provider. They specialize in getting customer missions integrated and on orbit through mission engineering and launch support. They have already completed over 30 launch campaigns from nearly every launch site in the world.

Products:

Mission Design : Perform and advise satellite developers on satellite mission design, including technical requirements, programmatic, regulatory, and financial planning for Nano to Micro class satellites.

Hardware: Design and fabricate custom hardware solutions for launch adaptation structures, customized separation systems, and ground support equipment.

Analysis and Testing: Perform satellite and launch vehicle analyses and testing, including structural, thermal, EMI/EMC compatibility, safety hazard, and launch environments.

Launch Brokering: Broker launches with all major US and international LV providers to get your satellite to your preferred orbit, from LEO, GTO, GEO, and Interplanetary.

Mission Handling: Manage satellite development and launch campaigns for university programs, unique government missions, and commercial constellations.

Launch Integration: Perform all required tasks to launch your satellite, including launch adapter hardware, interface control documents, requirement verifications, regulatory approvals, range safety, satellite to launch vehicle integration, and launch site support.

Contact:

Roland Coelho – Member of founding team for the CubeSat Standard at Cal Poly Other:

Attachment 3

Empirical Systems Aerospace
Status: Researched
Current Location: San Luis Obispo
Category: Full Services
Description:

Empirical Systems Aerospace is a full-service engineering firm, managing aircraft design, manufacture, integrations and testing. They design and manufacturer both manned and unmanned innovative electric and hybrid aircraft. They’ve done projects for Nasa, Lockheed Martin, Boeing.

Products:

X-57 “Maxwell”: A small, experimental airplane powered by electricity. All-electric technology will make flying cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable.

Empirical Systems is the prime contractor.

ECO-150: A 150 Passenger Environmentally Conscious Regional Airliner ESAero became convinced that conventional, non-superconducting electrical systems could be made to work in a large aircraft. It was funded by NASA Ames to take the ECO-150 concept and rework it around ambient- temperature generator and motor technology available to meet NASAs 2020-25 timeframe N+2 goals (40% less fuel used, lower emissions and lower noise).

Other projects: Various UAV and AEP projects and project related services.

Engineering Services: Design Analysis Manufacturing Testing and Niche Engineering Support Contact:

Other:

San Luis Obispo based. While they are not satellite and orbit launch focused, they may be good fit for Paso Robles Tech Corridor business spaces.

Attachment 3

Frontier Aerospace
Status: In communication
Current Location: Simi Valley CA
Category: Propulsion
Description:

Focus on conceptualizing, designing, proving and additively manufacturing innovative in-space launch system rocket propulsion. Frontier is fully equipped with the necessary software and hardware to perform challenging design and analysis effort. They boast “extensive experience” in liquid rocket propulsion development.

Products:

Propulsion: They specialize in the design, development, and analysis of specialized propulsion and thrusters. As of 2020, they also hold the only hypergolic propulsion technology across the globe able to operate at -40°F.

Test stands:

Engines are fired in a vacuum. They are tested in large vacuum chambers. In air testing is not viable for these engines. They want to be connected to Cal Poly professors to see if they are working with any type of lab for vacuum propulsion. They are standing up a vacuum test facility in Victorville. They want test facility resources that are locally available, vacuum and atmosphere test stands.

Required for a test site :

QD - 5 acres of land -> need water power (both), natural bunkers, sufficient power, advertised wind direction

Contact:

Jim McKinnon, President, Cal Ploy Alumni
Nancy Stoehr-Campbell, Director of Communications
Ralph Cocca, Director of Operations
Aaron Luong, Director of Tests
Other:

History of hiring Cal Poly students. Currently hire students in Purdue to do their testing.

Attachment 3

Impulse Space
Status: Researched
Current Location: Spain
Category: Cruise Vehicle, Entry Vehicle, Mars Lander
Description:

Impulse is developing the first commercial mission to MARS by partnering with Relativity Products:

Mars Mission: Impulse Space is partnering with Relativity to perform the first ever commercial landing on the red planet. The integrated Cruise Vehicle, Entry Capsule, and Mars Lander developed by Impulse Space will launch in 2026 on the Relativity Terran R launch vehicle. After traveling through interplanetary space for over half a year, the Cruise Vehicle will inject the Entry Capsule into the correct landing trajectory and detach. The Entry Capsule will use the proven combination of heatshield and parachute to slow down enough to safely deploy the Mars Lander into freefall. The lander will then perform a propulsive landing using purpose-built engines developed in-house at Impulse Space, completing the first commercial payload delivery to the surface of another planet.

Contact:

NA
Other:

May not relocate operations given a recent expansion in Colorado following $10M from LUX capital ($30M total)
Attachment 3

Hi-Temp Insulation
Status: Researched
Current Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Category: Thermals and Acoustics
Description:

Hi Temp Insulation, Inc, provides the Aircraft, Missile, and Space Industries with the most innovative designs and the very best products used to solve thermal and acoustical problems.

Products:

Metal Foil: Metal covered insulation blankets are preferred when you need protection from operating temperatures above 500°F. They are capable of rigidizing, forming, and welding various metals from .002 to .010 thick. These metals typically include aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, inconel and nichrome.

Fire Protection:

Thermal and fire protection for aircraft engine reversers.

Insulation:

Reliable and Advanced Mission Injector:

Provides advanced satellite deployment with redundant actuation liens and optional ability to interface with cubesat to charge and communicate
Other: They historically hire Cal Poly students.

Contact:

Attachment 3

Integrated Launch Solutions
Status: Intent
Current Location: Florida
Category: Launch Site Assistance
Description:

Helping space vehicle developers, launch service providers, and spaceport operators simplify and streamline access to outer space by challenging the status quo and proactively addressing launch licensing and regulatory compliance, range integration and safety, and launch site operations.

Products:

Knowledge transfer from industry subject matter experts that supports risk informed design and operations decisions and a smoother transition to steady state operations.

Experienced and flexible resources to provide surge support and reduce the need to maintain a standing army for the development of minimally- or non-recurring products and procedures.

A broad spectrum of lessons learned and best practices that support the early identification and mitigation of cost, schedule, technical, and safety risks drivers.

Integration products and services that cross-cut launch vehicle, payload, range, and ground systems to minimize stove-pipes and interface issues.

Contact:

Cheree Kiernan, President and CEO
Other:

Partners in FAA License Application development.

Attachment 3

Maxar
Status: In communication
Current Location: Based in Colorado, with other locations globally Category: Launch and Deployment
Description:

Maxar partners with innovative businesses and more than 50 governments to monitor global change, deliver broadband communications and advance space operations with capabilities in Space Infrastructure and Earth Intelligence. Conduct imaging, but also component/hardware design and manufacturing. Mature company (aided original Apollo missions).

Products:

SPACECRAFT PLATFORMS:

Maxar has decades of experience manufacturing communication and Earth observation satellites—with more than 285 Maxar-built satellites and 2,750 cumulative years on orbit.

ROBOTICS AND ASSISTANCE:

Maxar has been driving the development and deployment of technologies for robotic operations for more than three decades, empowering a range of entirely new commercial and government programs.

SATELLITE IMAGERY, TELEMETRY, MAPPING:

Direct collection requests and access to the worlds most advanced commercial imaging satellite constellation. Highest quality satellite imagery, basemaps and 3D data over any location on Earth. GIS-ready datasets for expedited analysis.

INTELLIGENCE:

Industry-leading technology, data and expertise to solve the most complex geospatial challenges.

Contact:

Ryan Carey, University and Events Program Manager, [email protected] Other:

Attachment 3

Applied Aerospace Structures Corp
Status: Researched
Current Location: Stockton, CA
Category: Structural Assemblies
Description:

Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation (AASC) is committed to being an innovative and responsive supplier of complex composite and metal bonded structural assemblies to the Aerospace Industry. AASC continually invests in facilities and equipment to support our customers needs.

Products:

Fabrication & Assembly:

AASC has state-of-the-art facilities with advanced manufacturing equipment to meet the exacting standards of todays aerospace products. With over 330,000 square feet of facility capacity, AASC utilizes the latest manufacturing technologies and is equipped to handle just about any size structure.

Inspection & Test:

AASC provides leading edge inspection and testing services to insure a quality product is delivered every time.

Design & Analysis:

AASC employs experienced engineers, analysts, and designers to support build-tospecification” requirements. We are also uniquely qualified with a large staff of manufacturing engineers that provide key producibility feedback on our own designs and can provide the same feedback as part of concurrent engineering” efforts with our customers.

Contact:

Other:

History of hiring Cal Poly students.

Attachment 3

White Fox Defense
Status: Researched
Current Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Category: Drone Security
Description:

We began as a drone manufacturer. When it became apparent there was no mechanism of enforcement to protect against their misuse, we created a safe and effective counter-drone solution.

Products:

Stratus:

The world's first real-time, cloud-based drone detection system. Accessible. Anywhere. Anytime.

Includes: Precise Drone Tracking, Identify Friend or Foe, Quickly Identify Pilot, Location, Cloud based drone monitoring, Forensic Threat Assessment, Web, mobile, and API accessible, Determine Pilot Intent, Text/Email Notifications
DroneFox:

The world’s longest range, most precise, and safest drone detection system. Box. Long range Detection, Surgical Drone Mitigation, Drone Threat Classification, Live Updates, Deploy and enjoy, Invisible Firewall, Operating Temperature -20-50°C

Scorpion 3:

The world's lightest weight, most portable drone detection and mitigation solution.

Scorpion offers efficient and reliable situational awareness, in any dynamic environment. The intuitive user interface allows the operator to integrate authorize drones into secured airspace, detect unauthorized drones and passively defend critical assets.

Contact:

TBD
Other:

Attachment 3

Edge Autonomy
Status: Researched
Current Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Category: Structural Assemblies
Description:

A provider of innovative autonomous systems, advanced optics, and resilient energy solutions to the US Department of Defense, the US Federal Civilian Agencies, allied governments, academic institutions, and commercial entities for 25+ Years Products:

Fabrication & Assembly:

AASC has state-of-the-art facilities with advanced manufacturing equipment to meet the exacting standards of todays aerospace products. With over 330,000 square feet of facility capacity, AASC utilizes the latest manufacturing technologies and is equipped to handle just about any size structure.

Inspection & Test:

AASC provides leading edge inspection and testing services to insure a quality product is delivered every time.

Design & Analysis:

AASC employs experienced engineers, analysts, and designers to support build-tospecification” requirements. We are also uniquely qualified with a large staff of manufacturing engineers that provide key producibility feedback on our own designs and can provide the same feedback as part of concurrent engineering” efforts with our customers.

Contact:

Other:

History of hiring Cal Poly students

Attachment 3

Terran Orbital
Status: Researched
Current Location: Florida HQ, Irvine, CA
Category: Smallsat Manufacturing
Description:

Terran Orbital is a leading manufacturer of small satellites primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries. Terran Orbital provides end-to-end satellite solutions by combining satellite design, production, launch planning, mission operations, and inorbit support to meet the needs of the most demanding military, civil, and commercial customers.

Products:

LAUNCH BROKERING | INTEGRATION:

Coordinate and secure launch opportunities for nanosatellites and microsatellites with nearly every launch provider in the world - delivered more than 215 satellites to orbit.

GROUND STATIONS | NETWORKING:

World-wide network of Terran Orbital and partner ground stations, team delivers autonomous communications capabilities to ensure customer data is received, routed, processed, and delivered timely and securely.

MISSION | ASCENT OPERATIONS:

Mission Operations Center (FL) is equipped to manage multiple vehicles and missions simultaneously. Combined with Global Ground Station Network, they provide actionable, low latency information to our customers and end users around the clock.

MISSION DESIGN | PLANNING:

Using state-of-the-art tools, our Mission Engineers design and plan constellation-level operations and communications scenarios, including optimized payload tasking. With our partners, we deliver scalable cloud solutions for payload and mission management.

Contact:

Other:

Manufacturing Space is in Irvine. History of hiring Cal Poly students. Terran Orbitals earliest missions used the intrepid platform, building off the work done by the founders at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
6/13/23 Terran partnered with Italian University students to design Cubesat and send it up on a Spacex launch from Vandenberg.

Attachment 3

[Spaceport Operator]
[Launch Vehicle Providers]
[Pa
y
tics]
[Service Providers]
Testing
ing and Deployment
Hardware Design and Manufacturing
Commercial
Mission Design
Research
Attachment 3

electrical energy to the
and its various
s throughout its mission. er systems are responsible ating, storing, and ing electrical power, the satellite to function while in space.

When
a satellite is in space, it
constantly generates various types of data related to its status, health, position, orientation, payload measurements, and other mission-critic a
information. Telemetry systems on the satellite gather this data from variou s
sensors and instruments onboard. The collected telemetry data is then transmitted back to Earth.

Attachment 3

tilize rides to LEO and
urrently have a lot of rouble enabling that out f Vandenberg or other ites. Many students spend heir whole college career eveloping Cubesats which hey will never see launch. he Paso Space port will hange that. other universities providesample opportunity for professors and students to lead research projects utilizing the launch space partnering companies resources.

Attachment 3

Very Launch Brokering ty and Storage
They are essential for
ing commands to the
t, receiving data and
, and providing tracking, , and control (TT&C)
p
hysica
l pro
duc
ts,
devices, or
components, often with electronic or mechanical elements.

Launch brokers act as intermediaries between satellite operators, government agencies, ocommercial entities seeking to launch their payloads into space and the various launch service providers that operate rockets anlaunch vehicles. ures and practices put
to protect, store, and
ssets, data, systems, viduals from ized access, misuse, or theft.

Attachment 3

Business and Economic
Development. Will support through their channels.
teady stream of graduates withxpertise in relevant disciplines, such s aerospace engineering, astrophysics, omputer science, and more. dditionally, having colleges nearby eans there will be a pool of talented tudents, faculty, and researchers who an engage in space-related research and evelopment. This can lead to nnovations in space technology, ropulsion systems, materials science,
nd other fields crucial for space xploration.

Attachment 3

Conference on Advancing MLT
Atmospheric Studies through
Commercial Suborbital Vehicles
February 27-28, 2025
Final Report
NSF Award ID 2432335
Dr. Dianne DeTurris
Professor, Aerospace Engineering, Cal Poly
Dustin DeBrum
Director Operations, Cal Poly Digital Transformation Hub May 1, 2025
Attachment 4

Conference on Advancing MLT Atmospheric Studies through Commercial Suborbital Vehicles Final Report - NSF Award ID 2432335
05/01/2025 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................4 Conference Team........................................................................................................5 Dr. Dianne DeTurris ............................................................................................................5 Dustin DeBrum ..................................................................................................................5 Dr. Kurt Colvin....................................................................................................................5 Anmol Sharma ...................................................................................................................6 Conference Summary.................................................................................................7 The Science of the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT)................................................7 Space to Grow ...................................................................................................................8 The Next Generation of Suborbital Vehicles ........................................................................8 Rocket Engine Testing ......................................................................................................10 Paso Robles Spaceport ....................................................................................................11 MLT Research Case Study ................................................................................................12 Engaging Students in Space Technology Research ............................................................13 Space IOT Research Case Study .......................................................................................14 Local Community STEM ...................................................................................................15 From the Ground Up to Middle Out ...................................................................................15 PolySat Program ..............................................................................................................16 Cal Poly AMSAT Project ....................................................................................................17 Paso Robles Air and Spaceport Licensing Update .............................................................17 Bridging the Gap ..............................................................................................................18 Conclusions and Next Steps ..................................................................................... 20 Accomplishments............................................................................................................20 What was the impact .......................................................................................................21 Intellectual Merit of the Event ..........................................................................................21 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................22 Next Steps .......................................................................................................................23 Appendix A – List of Registered Participants .............................................................. 25 Appendix B – Agenda................................................................................................. 28 Appendix C - Presentations....................................................................................... 30 C1 - The Science of the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) –Smith ..........................30 Attachment 4

Conference on Advancing MLT Atmospheric Studies through Commercial Suborbital Vehicles Final Report - NSF Award ID 2432335
05/01/2025 3
C2 - Space to Grow – Shull................................................................................................45 C3 - Dawn Aerospace: Next Generation of Suborbital Vehicles – Rodway..........................57 C4 - Stellar Exploration: Rocket Testing Operations – Meisberger.......................................68 C5 - Paso Robles Spaceport Vision, Educational Programs, & Opportunities – Britton, Sloan, & Colvin...........................................................................................................................72 C6 - MLT Research Case Study – Smith..............................................................................82 C7 - Engaging Students in Space Technology Research – DeTurris......................................93 C8 - Space IOT Research Case Study – Derickson............................................................ 103 C9 - Local Community STEM Showcase & Interest – Johnston, Acevedo, Dart, & Williams 116 C10 - From the Ground Up to Middle Out: Drones & Balloons for Assistive Suborbital Observations – Jacob ..................................................................................................... 117 C11 - Polysat Program – Bleakley .................................................................................... 136 C12 - Paso Robles Air and Spaceport Licensing Update – Scandalis................................. 141 C13 - Understanding Spaceport, Vehicle, and Payload Licensing – Kiernan ...................... 149 C14 - Bridging the Gap: Collaboration Between Industry, Academia, & Government for Spaceport Operations – Kiernan, Meyer, Sanchez, Crocket, Mierau ................................. 155 Table of Figures
FIGURE 1 - OPENING WELCOME FROM CAL POLY PRESIDENT JEFFREY D. ARMSTRONG ......................................................7 FIGURE 2 – RANGE OF THE 'IGNOROSPHERE'.............................................................................................................7 FIGURE 3 -DAWN AEROSPACE MK-II AND MK-III SIZE COMPARISON (SEE APPENDIX C3)....................................................9 FIGURE 4 - STELLAR EXPLORATIONS NANO SATELLITE PROPULSION TEST (SOURCE HTTPS://WWW.STELLAR-EXPLORATION.COM/) .............................................................................................................................................................10 FIGURE 5 - PASO ROBLES SPACEPORT AND TECHNOLOGY CORRIDOR (SEE APPENDIX C5) ...............................................11 FIGURE 6 – BLUE ORIGIN NEW SHEPARD LIFTS OFF FROM LAUNCH SITE ONE DURING NS-31 (APRIL 14, 2025) (SOURCE - HTTPS://WWW.BLUEORIGIN.COM/NEWS/GALLERY) .........................................................................................12 FIGURE 7 -DR.DIANNE DETURRIS SPEAKING TO ATTENDEES ......................................................................................13 FIGURE 8 – LONG-TERM MESOSPHERIC RESEARCH GOAL: SUBORBITAL MISSION INTO THE MESOSPHERE TO LEVERAGE DEVELOPED LORA PAYLOADS FOR TARGETED RESEARCH (SEE APPENDIX C8; SOURCE - HTTPS://SCIED.UCAR.EDU/IMAGE/ATMOSPHERE-LAYERS-DIAGRAM)....................................................................14 FIGURE 9 - GROUND UP AND MIDDLE OUT STRATEGY FOR IN SITU OBSERVATIONS AS OUTLINED BY OKLAHOMA AEROSPACE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (SEE APPENDIX C10).......................................................................16 FIGURE 10 -CAL POLY STUDENTS DEVELOPING AND TESTING A NEW CUBESAT (SOURCE - HTTPS://WWW.POLYSAT.ORG/).......17 FIGURE 11 -CHEREE KIERNAN,ROBERT MEYER,DAVID SANCHEZ, BOB CROCKETT, AND MIKE MIERAU, DISCUSS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA, AND GOVERNMENT FOR SPACEPORT OPERATIONS...........................................18 Attachment 4

Conference on Advancing MLT Atmospheric Studies through Commercial Suborbital Vehicles Final Report - NSF Award ID 2432335
05/01/2025 4
Introduction
This project aimed to explore the potential of commercial reusable suborbital vehicles to enable unprecedented access to the mesosphere lower thermosphere (MLT) region of the Earth's atmosphere for in-situ measurements and observations.

The increase in low-cost access to near space presented by these vehicles enables gamechanging opportunities with respect to research and education. A suborbital research vehicle will not only grant scientists much more frequent access to in situ investigations in near-Earth space but also allow students at all levels to gain hands-on access to space science and engineering.

One can envision a model where students can conduct complete end-to-end projects to design, build, fly, and analyze data from individual research projects for thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of thousands. Such a paradigm will also strengthen ties between university researchers, funding agencies and commercial spacecraft companies.

The MLT is a critically important but poorly understood region that plays a crucial role in space weather, climate, atmospheric change, and Earth systems modeling. Commercial reusable suborbital vehicles and a centralized facility to access them could significantly augment current balloons and sounding rocket study of the MLT.

The primary objectives of this effort were to bring together scientists, engineers, educators, and commercial operators to discuss missions and instruments that can take advantage of frequent, low-cost suborbital vehicle flights to the MLT—supporting new research programs, data collection, technology development, and educational opportunities at universities and research institutions across the United States.

Attachment 4

Conference on Advancing MLT Atmospheric Studies through Commercial Suborbital Vehicles Final Report - NSF Award ID 2432335
05/01/2025 5
Conference Team
Dr. Dianne DeTurris
Dr. DeTurris is a professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department. Dr. DeTurris has degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, Penn State, and Virginia Tech, with PhD research in experimental hypersonic airbreathing propulsion. Before joining Cal Poly in 1998, Dr. DeTurris was a research faculty member at the College of William & Mary. She also held the position of a Post-Doctoral Fellow for the National Research Council at NASA Langley Research Center and worked on fighter performance analysis for General Dynamics Fort Worth Division. Since coming to Cal Poly, Dr. DeTurris has been interim Co-Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department, Director of Global Technical Education Initiatives, and an advocate for DEI in the College of Engineering. Her teaching includes jet and rocket propulsion, aerothermodynamics, hypersonics, systems thinking, and launch vehicle design. Dr. DeTurris is a faculty advisor for two student rocket development clubs. Her current research is in managing complexity in large engineered systems.

Dustin DeBrum
Dustin DeBrum is the Director Operations for Digital Transformation Hub (DxHub), California Cybersecurity Institute, and 5G Innovation Lab at Cal Poly, where he supports cyber education initiatives and outreach to build a skilled cyber workforce capable of navigating today’s complex threat landscape. His higher-education career spans over 24 years at Cal Poly, supporting university commercial operations and enterprise technology services.

Before Cal Poly, DeBrum worked for multiple dot-com companies in Silicon Valley. In addition to his experience, DeBrum has presented and hosted workshops, conferences, and online webinars on space cybersecurity, technology disability policy, credit card security, and cloud deployment. DeBrum holds a bachelor’s degree in Twentieth-Century Science & Technology History from San Jose State University and a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration from Cal Poly.

Dr. Kurt Colvin
Dr. Kurt Colvin is a retired professor of industrial engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

His professional interests encompass a range of technical fields, including systems engineering, data analytics, data acquisition, cloud computing, and aircraft flight test engineering. Dr. Colvin possesses over 25 years of industrial and research experience. His career has included work at organizations such as NASA (Ames and JPL), the Air Force Test Pilot School, The Boeing Company, Systems Integrators, Inc., Ameridata, Festo, and FritoLay, Inc. Throughout his career in education, he has taught a diverse array of subjects. These include systems engineering, mechanical design, manufacturing processes, industrial automation, systems simulation, manufacturing systems integration, flight test engineering, Attachment 4

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and data analytics. Beyond his professional endeavors, Dr. Colvin is a parent and spouse and demonstrates a commitment to lifelong learning. His personal interests are varied and active; he is a pilot, bicyclist, sailor, and an enthusiastic builder of projects undertaken purely for enjoyment.

Anmol Sharma
Anmol Sharma is a fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student at Cal Poly and has been involved in the aerospace industry through internships and projects during her university career. Sharma served as a Spacecraft Integration Engineering Intern for SpaceX, Mechanical Design Intern for Payload Integration for NASA, and Systems Engineer Intern for the Paso Robles Airport. Sharma will receive her BS in Aerospace Engineering in June 2025.

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Conference Summary
The Conference on Atmospheric
Research Using Suborbital Vehicles was
hosted at the Allegretto Vineyard Resort,
February 27-28, 2025. Planning for the
event began in 2024, focusing on bringing
together education, government, and
commercial partners to discuss how
commercial suborbital vehicles are being
used to support research, now and into
the future. Figure 1 shows the conference
opening by Cal Poly President Jeffrey
Armstrong.

Seventeen sessions were spread over 1.5
days and provided participants with time
for interaction and sharing. Sessions included the state of MLT and atmospheric research, existing methodologies for suborbital research (e.g., balloon, drone, sounding rockets, etc.), new horizontal lift systems, early student engagement in space research, and community support for educational access to space and spaceport development.

The Science of the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT)
Dr. Todd Smith from JHU-APL set the
stage for the conference by providing an
overview of the mesosphere-lower
thermosphere-ionosphere (MLT-I)
region (see Appendix C1), which poses
unique research challenges due to its
inaccessibility. Too low for satellites and
too high for balloons, with sounding
rockets providing only expensive, brief
data collection opportunities.

The MLT, shown in Figure 2, comprises
several layers: the mesosphere (50-85km), where meteors burn up and temperatures reach -90°C; the thermosphere above it with dramatically increasing temperatures (200-2000°C) that marks the boundary to space at 62 miles and features solar UV/X-ray breakdown and aurora formation; and the ionosphere (extending to 1000km) with its three layers (D, E, F) of charged particles that vary with sunspot cycles and can disrupt power grids.

Figure 1 - Opening welcome from Cal Poly President
Jeffrey D. Armstrong
Figure 2 – Range of the 'Ignorosphere'
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Dr. Smith highlighted the "Catch-22" that experiments need space-testing before deployment and advocated for frequent, low-cost flights offering reusable platforms and microgravity research opportunities. These would enable crucial studies in multiple areas including the global radiation budget (affected by clouds, aerosols, and greenhouse gases), atmospheric composition, ionosphere plasma, auroras, electron content mapping for improved GPS accuracy, negative ions found on Titan, noctilucent clouds, upper atmosphere lightning, and meteors.

Space to Grow
According to Stan Shull (see Appendix C2), global satellite infrastructure now exceeds 11,000 craft, with 90% in Low Earth Orbit (LEO, 200-2000 km). This distribution is particularly significant for Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) research, as the lower boundary of LEO satellites operates in the upper reaches of the MLT region that Dr. Smith described as critically important yet challenging to study.

The $300 billion global space economy, with $75 billion from the US alone, is driving technological innovations like CubeSats, reusable rockets, and high-volume satellite production that could revolutionize MLT research. The shift from "exquisite" production models (5-10 years of government-led development) to "standard" models (under 2 years of commercial development) aligns perfectly with Smith's call for frequent, low-cost flights to overcome the "Catch-22" of space testing. These technological and economic developments create new possibilities for deploying specialized instruments to study the MLT region and the vehicles needed to support a rapid flight cadence.

Shull's recommendation that an educationally focused spaceport specializing in suborbital testing represents a direct opportunity to advance MLT research. Such testing platforms could enable studies of the global radiation budget, atmospheric composition variability, ionosphere plasma, and other phenomena identified as crucial research areas. The expanding capabilities in communications and data services could also enhance real-time monitoring of the ionosphere's D, E, and F layers, improving our understanding of how sunspot cycles affect their structures and densities. This convergence of atmospheric science and satellite technology offers promising pathways to expand our limited knowledge of this critical atmospheric region that influences everything from global warming to space weather and communications.

The Next Generation of Suborbital Vehicles
Building on the discussions of MLT science and satellite technology, Khaki Rodway presented Dawn Aerospace's development of next-generation suborbital vehicles (see Appendix C3), which offer promising new platforms for researching the difficult-to-access Attachment 4

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atmospheric region. These rocket-powered aircraft, shown in Figure 3, are designed specifically for frequent suborbital research missions, reaching the Karman line at 100km (62 miles). Dawn's approach directly addresses the need for frequent, affordable access to the MLT region that Smith emphasized is "too low for satellites and too high for balloons." Suborbital flight history has evolved from the 1961 Mercury Redstone launch and the 1963 X-15 flights above the Karman line to commercial milestones like SpaceShip One in 2004 and Blue Origin's New Shepard in 2015. Dawn Aerospace is positioning itself as a more costeffective alternative at approximately $100,000 per flight, significantly less than traditional sounding rockets. It offers advantages in turnaround time, risk reduction, and targeted testing capabilities. Their current Mk-II Aurora vehicle can reach hypersonic speeds past Mach 3.5 with a goal of just 90 minutes between flights, potentially revolutionizing the frequency of MLT data collection compared to the "rare, expensive, and not reliable" sounding rockets that Smith described.

Dawn's suborbital vehicles provide an ideal platform for rapid prototyping and testing of both science packages and satellite systems. The remarkably quick 90-minute turnaround between flights directly addresses Smith's "Catch-22" dilemma, where experiments need space-testing before deployment. This rapid cadence allows researchers to iterate quickly on instrument designs, test components in actual space conditions, identify problems, implement fixes, and retest—all potentially within the same day. For satellite developers, this capability dramatically accelerates the testing cycle for critical subsystems like sensors, communications equipment, and environmental monitoring tools before committing to full orbital deployment.

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With 40-minute flight durations providing exposure to the extreme conditions of the upper atmosphere and space boundary, Dawn's vehicles enable realistic testing at a fraction of the cost and time required for traditional space validation, potentially transforming how the industry approaches both scientific instrument development and satellite systems engineering for the expanding commercial space sector that Shull described.

Rocket Engine Testing
Continuing the discussion on rapid prototyping, Ryan Meisberger presented Stellar Exploration's rocket testing operations at their Paso Robles Hypergolic Test Site at the future Paso Robles Spaceport (see Appendix C4). This facility specializes in building, testing, and loading chemical propulsion systems, including work on NASA's Capstone mission. Their capabilities directly complement the satellite technology ecosystem described earlier and provide the critical testing infrastructure that supports both "exquisite" and "standard" satellite production models.

The company maintains 14 certified SCAPE
(Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective
Ensemble) handlers who safely work with
dangerous hypergolic propellants—
specifically hydrazine and dinitrogen
tetroxide—commonly used in rocket
systems. This infrastructure enables
comprehensive testing of small satellite
propulsion systems essential for
positioning and maneuvering satellites in
various orbits, including VLEO.

The facility tests (see Figure 4)
monopropellant thrusters producing 0.25N
to 0.5N of thrust (up to 24 thrusters per test)
and 5N bipropellant thrusters (up to 8 per
test). Their services include qualification unit hot-fire tests, water hammer testing, catalyst testing, and hypergolic load tests—all critical validation steps for ensuring reliable operation in space. With 30 engineers and an annual development cycle for new thrusters, Stellar Exploration demonstrates the specialized aerospace testing capacity that Shull identified as a potential focus area for a research-aligned Spaceport, while leveraging Dawn Aerospace's capabilities of providing the propulsion system verification that satellites need before deployment.

Figure 4 - Stellar Explorations Nano Satellite propulsion test (source https://www.stellar-exploration.com/)
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Paso Robles Spaceport
Building on the foundation of MLT science needs, Dawn Aerospace's suborbital capabilities, and Stellar Exploration's rocket testing operations, a panel featuring Bill Britton, Dr. Kurt Colvin, and Paul Sloan presented a vision for the Paso Robles Spaceport focused on educational access to space (see Appendix C5). Britton, the Executive Director for Cal Poly Solano Campus and Maritime Academy Initiatives and a City of Paso Robles Airport Commissioner, identified a common problem within the space industry: the lengthy wait times and high costs associated with securing launch opportunities. The proposed spaceport, shown in Figure 5, would address this by providing assured educational access to space for testing, fostering education, connecting university programs with workforce needs, and promoting scientific curiosity among students and the public.

Dr. Kurt Colvin introduced the Spaceport Training and Research Center (STRC), which would provide hands-on experience and bridge commercial space opportunities with education, research, and development. The facility would provide state-of-the-art capabilities and offer Figure 5 - Paso Robles Spaceport and Technology Corridor (see Appendix C5) Attachment 4

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training at both university and professional levels. Unlike other spaceports, this initiative would specifically focus on education and research, creating opportunities for middle school, high school, and college students to build, design, and launch projects while still in school.

City of Paso Robles Economic Development Manager Paul Sloan addressed economic development aspects of the spaceport initiative, noting that while agriculture, tourism, and business currently drive the economy in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, a spaceport would bring significant additional economic benefits. The city of Paso Robles has developed a strategic plan incorporating space tech, with the spaceport envisioned as part of a broader Space Innovation and Technology Park. The proposed site would leverage the Paso Robles airport, a former military facility with existing infrastructure advantages. Sloan, Britton, and Colvin emphasized that the educational focus positions the project uniquely among spaceports, addressing gap issues mentioned by the previous speakers that would have a positive impact on space research.

MLT Research Case Study
Following his previous presentation, Dr. Todd Smith
provided a research case study from Johns Hopkins
University’s Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL)
commercial suborbital program (see Appendix C6),
showcasing how private companies are transforming
suborbital spacecraft development. Figure 6 shows
one example of how commercial space has changed
dramatically in the last 20 years.

Their JANUS platform, a self-contained portable
system that standardizes power, data storage, and
instrument control, has completed nine flight tests
demonstrating the crucial ability to conduct
repeated experiments. The program has partnered
with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Blue
Origin, and Virgin Galactic over ten years, securing
NASA Flight Opportunities funding for five low-cost
missions while involving numerous students
working with small payloads. This case study
directly supports the Paso Robles Spaceport vision
by providing a proven model for educational space
access.

Beginning with Blue Origin launches (see Figure 6) before moving to Virgin Galactic for vibration and electromagnetic environment studies; the JANUS program has evolved through both successes and failures. Their experience emphasizes how rapid launch access benefits Figure 6 – Blue Origin New Shepard lifts off from
launch site one during NS-31 (April 14, 2025)
(source - https://www.blueorigin.com/news/gallery)
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agile prototyping and how standardized platforms for development could be leveraged at the proposed Spaceport Training and Research Center, particularly by using Dawn Aerospace's quick-turnaround vehicles.

The JHU-APL program validates the need for an educationally focused spaceport, showing how NASA partnerships can support ongoing research, how meaningful student involvement enhances outcomes, and how proper infrastructure enables economically viable space research. This working model confirms that the spaceport's approach to bridging commercial space opportunities with education and research can address the gaps in MLT region understanding while providing valuable hands-on experience for students at all levels.

Engaging Students in Space Technology Research
Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering professor and the conference PI, Dr. Dianne DeTurris (see Figure 7), presented her work engaging students in space technology research focused on a propulsion curriculum (see Appendix C7). Under her guidance, Cal Poly has developed comprehensive rocket technology
projects for undergraduate, graduate,
and club participants. These initiatives
provide hands-on experience in rocket
development while maintaining
rigorous safety standards throughout
all activities.

Cal Poly's rocket development uses an
agile approach and has followed a
progressive evolution in complexity
and capability. The initial focus has
been building solid motor rockets for
competitions, obtaining Tripoli
Rocketry Association certifications,
and working with solid rocket motors up to class M. DeTurris’ students later advanced to hybrid testing using nitrous oxide and HTPB (rubber), which offered advantages in performance and technology. Most recently, they've developed sophisticated liquid rocket engines using ethanol and nitrous oxide, achieving remarkable success in competitions, including the extremely challenging feat of throttling a thruster from 100% to 35% and back up again - something only one other student team worldwide has managed to achieve.

DeTurris' work directly connects to the previous sessions by demonstrating practical educational applications that could benefit from access to an educational Spaceport and Dawn Aerospace's rapid-turnaround suborbital vehicles. The Collegiate Propulsive Lander Figure 7 - Dr. Dianne DeTurris speaking to attendees
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Challenge1, she highlighted, with plans for a hovering and landing vehicle, represents the kind of iterative testing that Smith advocated for in his MLT research case study.

Space IOT Research Case Study
Cal Poly Electrical Engineering department professors Dr. Dennis Derickson and Steve Dunton, along with Cal Poly Space Systems lead Jack Ryan, presented a compelling case study on suborbital Internet of Things (IoT) research that continued to build on the themes of previous sessions (see Appendix C8). Their work focuses on LoRa (Long Range) wireless communication technology, which, despite its low bandwidth, offers significant advantages for space research applications due to its long-range capabilities and low cost (see Figure 8).

According to Derickson, LoRa uses a distinctive chirped waveform modulation technique that shifts from low to high frequency, enabling low-bandwidth communication between ground stations and low-orbit to suborbital payloads.
1 https://landerchallenge.space/
Figure 8 – Long-term Mesospheric Research Goal: Suborbital mission into the Mesosphere to leverage developed LoRa payloads for targeted research (see Appendix C8; source - https://scied.ucar.edu/image/atmosphere-layers-diagram).

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The team collaborates with OWL Integration2, which develops low-cost, Size, Weight, and Power (SWAP) radios. Professor Dunton described how these systems can function effectively with low-gain antennas on the ground and in space, making them particularly suitable for MLT research applications. The project incorporates a "Clusterduck Mesh Network"3 with custom electronics and payloads featuring various components that work together in a mesh configuration. This technology has multiple possible use cases, both terrestrial and orbital. It could directly impact MLT research, offering a potential low-cost solution for data collection in these difficult-to-access atmospheric regions.

Local Community STEM
The first day of the conference concluded with a panel moderated by local science teacher Evan Johnston from Paso Robles High School, featuring three students with aerospace aspirations (see Appendix C9). The panel discussed their interest in space research and engineering projects, including collaborations to build a five-foot suborbital testing rocket that reaches 5,000 feet. Their stories underscored both the enthusiasm among local students and the need for more accessible aerospace education opportunities, which is precisely what the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport aims to provide. This session demonstrated the importance of STEM education, highlighting why bridging academic research and commercial space applications is crucial for developing the next generation of aerospace professionals who will contribute to future MLT research and suborbital vehicle development.

From the Ground Up to Middle Out
Kicking off day two, Dr. Jamey Jacob from Oklahoma State University's Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE)4 presented "From the Ground Up to Middle Out: Drones and Balloons for Assistive Suborbital Observations." His work addresses the insitu data gap in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) through a comprehensive approach using multiple vehicle types (see Figure 9). This has evolved from performing Mars aircraft testing at high altitudes to the NSF-funded Cloud-Map project, which helped develop regulatory approval processes and expand partner relationships. More recently, Jacob’s team has focused on advanced air mobility funded by NASA, supporting emerging technologies and air traffic control by gathering wind data across various boundary layers in urban and rural environments (see Appendix C10).

Dr. Jacob described OAIRE’s innovative use of multiple platforms to conduct atmospheric research. Their solar balloons, which can reach 60,000-90,000 feet, provide an inexpensive platform for student projects and team-building exercises. Having launched approximately 200 balloons with a nearly 100% payload recovery rate, they've expanded to Meteogliders 2 https://www.owlintegrations.com/
3 https://clusterduckprotocol.org/
4 https://go.okstate.edu/aerospace/
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that offer controlled descent paths, unlike conventional balloons. Their most impressive development is a deployable glider payload launched from a small 4-inch diameter rocket with an N-sized motor, capable of reaching 40,000 feet before deployment. The team is also working on plans for a Rockoon (rocket launched from a balloon) that could be conducted at Oklahoma Air and Spaceport, located in Burns Flat, which has extensive testing capabilities.

The presentation demonstrated another approach to accessing the difficult-to-study atmospheric regions discussed the previous day by Dr. Todd Smith, and like Cal Poly's rocket programs and the LoRa communications research, OAIRE's multi-platform approach offers complementary data collection methods that could benefit from the educational spaceport model proposed for Paso Robles. Jacob’s strategy represents another model for bridging the gap between academia and industry while developing practical solutions for atmospheric research—precisely the kind of collaborative work that could thrive at an education-focused spaceport facility.

PolySat Program
Jess Bleakley, a Cal Poly third-year aerospace engineering student and PolySat5lab manager, presented an overview of the university's student-run small satellite research and development laboratory that established the CubeSat standard in collaboration with 5 https://www.polysat.org/
Figure 9 - Ground Up and Middle Out Strategy for In Situ observations as outlined by Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (see Appendix C10).

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Stanford University (see Appendix C11). Founded in 1999, the program initially focused on student projects but has evolved into a significant contributor to small satellite development. The program is currently working on three missions (SAL-E, AMDROHP, and GENESys) scheduled for upcoming launch.

Bleakley emphasized how access to a suborbital launch facility would provide affordable opportunities with fast turnaround times, enabling more iterative testing processes ideal for agile prototyping. Aligning with the earlier calls for frequent, low-cost flights to advance MLT research and the use of multi-platform
strategies.

Overall, the PolySat program gives students
hands-on experience with real space
hardware (see Figure 10), a key part of
research and learning success addressed in
previous sessions, creating a robust
educational ecosystem that bridges
academic research with commercial space
applications while providing valuable
learning opportunities for students at all
levels.

Cal Poly AMSAT Project
As a follow-up to the PolySat program, space cybersecurity educator Henry Danielson and Cal Poly computer science student Isaac Rudnick provided a short overview of a project leveraging the Association of Amateur Radio Satellite Organizations (AMSAT)6 development standard, which uses a $400, 3D-printed 1U CubeSat simulator to teach systems integration and satellite communications.

Though not space worthy, this plastic model incorporates all the components of a real orbital or suborbital payload, allowing students to learn ground control communications and practice using telemetry to determine rotation rates. This cost-effective educational tool, with its open-source instructions and month-long build timeline, provides valuable handson experience in radio telecommunications and CubeSat design fundamentals, demonstrating how accessible technologies can bridge theoretical knowledge and practical space applications.

Paso Robles Air and Spaceport Licensing Update
Given the discussion a potential educationally focused spaceport could have for research and development, Mark Scandalis, the Paso Robles Airport Manager, presented an update 6 https://www.amsat.org/
Figure 10 - Cal Poly students developing and testing a new CubeSat (source - https://www.polysat.org/).

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on the city’s licensing process (see Appendix C12). Following a preliminary technical review in 2022, which confirmed the project's feasibility, the city partnered with Cal Poly to develop the license application. The site includes 296 acres available for development and already incorporates two static engine testing sites in its explosive site plan.

Significant progress has been made with the spaceport operations procedures, records management plan, and initial documentation already submitted to the FAA. The city council also secured an FAA grant to update the airport master plan to include the spaceport concept. The remaining steps include completing the launch site location review, hazard analysis, environmental assessment, and finalizing agreements with local agencies.

According to Scandalis, the project aims to connect the educational and research initiatives discussed throughout the conference to the concrete infrastructure and regulatory framework necessary to make the vision of an educationally focused spaceport a reality.

In support of Scandalis’ update presentation, Cheree Kiernan, President and CEO of Integrated Launch Solutions (ILS), outlined the licensing process to assist other participants working on similar programs. She explained the difference between FAA Part 420 (spaceport licensing) and the more stringent Part 450 (launch vehicle operator licensing).

Bridging the Gap
The final conference session (see Appendices C13 and 14) featured a panel discussion on "Bridging the Gap" between industry, academia, and government for spaceport operations, with participants Cheree Kiernan, Robert Meyer, David Sanchez, Bob Crockett, and Mike Mierau (see Figure 11). The purpose of this conversation was to explore key challenges facing Figure 11 - Cheree Kiernan, Robert Meyer, David Sanchez, Bob Crockett, and Mike Mierau, discuss bridging the gap between industry, academia, and government for spaceport operations.

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space research and innovation facilities, including keeping talented workers in the local community, securing adequate funding, developing a supportive ecosystem, and ensuring sufficient facility utilization.

Robert Meyer from the Employment Training Panel (ETP) in the governor's office discussed workforce development funding, noting they've already provided $400,000 to support Cuesta Community College and have $100 million available for training programs. David Sanchez shared his experience growing a small aerospace business from 2 to 15 employees, emphasizing the importance of clear value propositions and affordable facilities for startups. Bob Crockett highlighted that while the spaceport wouldn't change Cal Poly's curriculum, it would dramatically expand opportunities for the university's 80 engineering clubs and research initiatives through government and industry contracts. Mike Mierau from Premier Valley Bank discussed financing options for startups and suggested that educational institutions could be the first tenants to attract industry partners.

The panel concluded with actionable recommendations: create accessible entry points for small companies with limited resources; implement "baby steps" with safe pilot programs to achieve early, inexpensive wins; broaden pathways for students to develop skills needed in the aerospace economy; advocate for support during California Aerospace Day in Sacramento; and consider innovative approaches to facility design that could generate more revenue while accommodating FAA limitations. This final session effectively tied together the conference's themes of educational opportunity, economic development, and collaborative partnerships while providing practical next steps toward realizing the Paso Robles Spaceport vision.

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Conclusions and Next Steps
Accomplishments
• The conference successfully convened a diverse group of stakeholders, including scientists, engineers, educators, and commercial space operators. • It fostered discussions on leveraging commercial suborbital vehicles for unprecedented access to the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region. • The event explored the potential of low-cost suborbital flights to support new research programs, data collection, technology development, and educational opportunities.
• It showcased advancements in suborbital vehicle technology, highlighting reusable platforms and rapid prototyping capabilities.
• The conference saw over 100 registrations from across academia, government, and the private sector for the 1.5-day event, with 67 participants on Thursday and 47 participants on Friday.
• Over 25 students registered from college to high school for the event to listen and to present projects.
• The event saw five universities register, including San Jose State University, San Diego State University, Cal Poly Pomona, and presentations from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Johns Hopkins University, and Oklahoma State University. • State and Federal representatives attended to convey support, understand need and impact, and highlight student excellence.
• 15 commercial companies, including launch providers (Dawn, SpaceLaunch, SpaceX, Blue Origin) registered for the event.
• Case studies demonstrated the feasibility of conducting repeated experiments and the benefits of standardized platforms for development. • The conference addressed the importance of creating accessible pathways for students and researchers, emphasizing hands-on experience and collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
• It advanced the Paso Robles Spaceport vision, focusing on its potential to provide assured educational access to space, foster STEM education, and drive economic development in the region.
• The conference facilitated crucial conversations on licensing processes, infrastructure development, and strategies for bridging the gap between industry, academia, and government to support spaceport operations and the growth of the aerospace sector.
• The conference included a "Working Backwards" exercise that generated actionable themes such as the establishment of a multi-university educational consortium, stakeholder communication strategies, integrated educational pathways, and phased infrastructure development plans.

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What was the impact
The culminating activity of the conference consisted of a structured Working Backwards exercise in which conference attendees were divided into five discussion groups to synthesize insights and formulate strategic action items.

Working Backwards is a project planning methodology used extensively by Cal Poly’s Digital Transformation Hub (DxHub) powered by AWS7, to understand customer goals and validate the viability of a product or strategy. For this event, participants were put into groups and provided with four questions:

1. Describe a challenge or opportunity in atmospheric research or space science.

2. How could commercial, academic, and government partners collaborate to address the challenge or opportunity?

3. Describe how you might be able to better address the challenge or opportunity if a solution were implemented.

4. Describe what the end result looks like.

The conversations produced several interconnected themes, such as the establishment of a multi-university educational consortium with shared access to suborbital vehicle opportunities, the development of comprehensive stakeholder communication strategies, the creation of integrated educational pathways spanning from middle school through university research programs, and the implementation of phased infrastructure development plans to support innovation. Furthermore, participants emphasized the critical importance of strategic alliance-building in securing regulatory approvals and community support to ensure long-term impact on research and education.

Another important factor identified was the time requirements for successfully implementing the outlined goals, with the agreement that a crawl, walk, run framework encompassing immediate, intermediate, and long-term objectives be leveraged.

The groups also recognized that the convergence of educational institutions, governmental agencies, and commercial entities is essential for establishing the operational capabilities necessary to address the research gaps and needs discussed during the conference and to support a more effective agile development methodology.

Intellectual Merit of the Event
The conference demonstrated significant intellectual merit by:
• Addressing Critical Research Gaps: It focused on the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT), a scientifically vital but poorly understood atmospheric region, 7 https://dxhub.calpoly.edu/
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highlighting challenges like its inaccessibility and the limitations of current research methods.
• Convening Diverse Expertise: The event successfully brought together scientists, engineers, educators, students, and commercial space operators from academia, government, and the private sector to share knowledge and foster interdisciplinary dialogue.
• Showcasing Technological Innovation: Presentations featured advancements in commercial reusable suborbital vehicles, rocket testing, satellite technology (like CubeSats and LoRa communication), and alternative atmospheric observation platforms (drones, balloons, gliders), emphasizing capabilities like rapid prototyping, frequent low-cost access, and iterative testing.
• Promoting Collaborative Solutions: The conference facilitated crucial discussions on bridging the gap between industry, academia, and government, exploring collaborative models for research, infrastructure development (like the Paso Robles Spaceport), workforce training, and funding.
• Integrating Education and Research: A strong emphasis was placed on the educational potential of suborbital research, showcasing models for engaging students at all levels (K-12 through university) in hands-on projects, fostering STEM pathways, and developing the future workforce.
• Generating Actionable Outcomes: The event included structured exercises that led to concrete themes and next steps, such as the potential formation of a multiuniversity educational consortium and phased development plans, indicating a commitment to translating discussion into tangible progress.

Overall, the conference significantly contributed to advancing the understanding of MLT science and the application of commercial suborbital vehicles, fostering innovation and collaboration across multiple sectors.

Conclusions
The Conference on Atmospheric Research Using Suborbital Vehicles successfully convened stakeholders from diverse sectors to address the challenges and opportunities in Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) research. The event fostered discussions on leveraging commercial suborbital vehicles for scientific exploration, technological development, and educational advancement. Participants explored the potential of lowcost suborbital flights to support research programs, data collection, and hands-on educational opportunities, while also addressing the advancements in suborbital vehicle technology and the feasibility of repeated experiments using standardized platforms.

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between industry, academia, and government to support spaceport operations and the growth of the aerospace sector.

The conference culminated in a "Working Backwards" exercise that generated actionable themes such as the establishment of a multi-university educational consortium, stakeholder communication strategies, integrated educational pathways, and phased infrastructure development plans. Participants recognized the need for strategic alliances, regulatory approvals, community support, and a phased implementation approach to achieve long-term impact on research and education. The conference underscored the importance of collaboration between educational institutions, government agencies, and commercial entities to establish operational capabilities, address research gaps, and support agile development methodologies in the field.

When participants were asked about what new idea resonated with them, the top two phrases were collaboration and rapid prototyping, highlighted in Figure 7, both of which align with key points raised during the Working Backwards exercise. The proposed consortium model would leverage collective resources to provide unprecedented access to suborbital research opportunities, with the added benefit of addressing workforce development needs through integrated educational pipelines. At the same time, assured educational access to facilities and suborbital platforms could change the paradigm for research and development. These approaches align with the conference's overarching theme of democratizing access to space research through commercial suborbital vehicles, particularly for educational institutions and early-career scientists.

Next Steps
Continued Discussion—Communication and collaboration were key themes of the event, with many participants eager to share ideas and collaborate on innovative ways to support MLT research and systems development. As such, the conference provided a great opportunity for networking and discussion.

We recommend a cadence of follow-up in-person or online events for academic, commercial, and governmental participants to allow research teams to share projects and hardware needs or innovations, commercial partners to share new platforms and capabilities, and government agencies to provide updates on funding opportunities or infrastructure development plans.

Educational Consortium Development—The establishment of a multi-university educational consortium with shared access to suborbital vehicle opportunities was an innovative idea generated from the event, and multiple attendees expressed their interest in participating. Furthermore, Dawn Aerospace has indicated its interest in partnering in such a consortium and the potential for a ‘wet lease’ model to provide regional launch capabilities.

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We recommend creating a working group including the conference participants (academic and commercial) to develop integrated educational pathways from middle school through university research programs to foster interest and expertise in the field.

Assured Educational Access to Space—Access to facilities and suborbital platforms from a dedicated educational facility near an applied research university could change the game for suborbital testing, research, and development. It can also be the catalyst for early education and operational training programs. Establishing the Paso Robles Spaceport Training and Research Center (STRC) addresses these needs.

We recommend implementing a phased infrastructure development plan to support innovation and growth in a sustainable manner. This plan should include a "crawl, walk, run" framework with immediate, intermediate, and long-term objectives to manage the time requirements for successfully implementing the outlined goals.

We think it is important to continue to foster the convergence of educational institutions, governmental agencies, and commercial entities to establish the operational capabilities needed to address research gaps and support agile development methodologies With commercial and governmental partners already in line to support this initiative and the potential for turnkey resources, the problem of the ignorosphere can be solved.

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Appendix A – List of Registered Participants
Name Company/School Email Att
Jennifer Acevedo AgWest [email protected]  Grant Acevedo Paso Robles High School [email protected]  Jeffrey Armstrong Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Yotam Barr Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]
Chris Bausch City of Paso Robles [email protected] 
Kris Beal City of Paso Robles [email protected] 
Steven Beck Loma Seca Vineyards [email protected] 
Neil Bedagkar Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] John Bellardo Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] Logan Bishopric San Luis Obispo Propulsion Technologies [email protected] William Britton Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Olivia Carey Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Alex Castellar Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory [email protected] Subhash
Chellappan Launch On Demand [email protected] Dan Ciccateri All Points, LLC [email protected]  Cameron Coleman Cal Poly [email protected] 
Kurt Colvin Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Henry Danielson Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Kyle Dart Paso Robles High School [email protected]  Bruce DeBruhl Noyce School of Applied Computing [email protected]  Dustin DeBrum Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Dennis Derickson California Polytechnic State University [email protected]  Dianne DeTurris Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Aadi Dhanda Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] Connor Doherty Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] John Donaldson JD4Homes [email protected] 
Liam Duckworth Cal Poly [email protected] 
Madi Dulisse ICEYE US [email protected] 
Steve Dunton Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Tom Erskine Country Real Estate, Inc. [email protected]  Gwen Erskine Country Real Estate, Inc. [email protected]  Calvin Fong Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Space Systems [email protected] Michael Foote REACH [email protected] 
Brenna Fowler ChangeAerial [email protected]
Rocky Garcia SpaceX [email protected]
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Elizabeth Gross Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory [email protected] Jonathan Holly Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Madeleine Hott Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Chris Huot City of Paso Robles [email protected] 
Jim Irving JimIrving.com [email protected] 
Ibisia Jack San Diego State University [email protected] Jamey Jacob OAIRE - Oklahoma State University [email protected]  Glenn Johnson Paso Robles Pilots Association [email protected]  Evan Johnston Paso Robles High School [email protected]  Tom Jones Aerospace Museum of California [email protected]  Karen Jones Aerospace Museum of California [email protected]  Paul Jurasin EmPathIze Innovation and Foresight [email protected]  Eric Kemp USSF SLD30/DTO [email protected]
Rudra Khakhar Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] Cheree Kiernan Integrated Launch Solutions, Inc. [email protected]  Jim Klo SRI International [email protected] 
Scott Knuckles EduCyber Solutions [email protected]
Justin Kopcinski Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Maneesh Kumar Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Katherine Legg San Jose State University [email protected] Todd Lindner RS&H [email protected] 
Jennifer Loftus Paso Robles Joint Unified School District [email protected]  Warren Long Optimum Growth Group [email protected] 
Jeff Long Broad Horizon Media [email protected] 
John Lozano IHM Outdoors [email protected]
Marcy Mabry SpaceLaunch [email protected]
Dale Magee Catalyst Consulting [email protected]  Jared Malapit Precision Construction Services [email protected]  Ryan Meisberger Stellar Exploration
ryan.meisberger@stellarexploration.com 
Robert Meyer California Employment Training Panel [email protected]  Markus Mieritz Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Victoria Natalie OAIRE - Oklahoma State University [email protected]  Kali Nowakowski Cal Poly Partners [email protected]  Sedat Ozer Cal Poly, Pomona [email protected] 
Lorenzo Pedroza
Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory/Cal Poly SLO
Student [email protected] 
Julie Pruniski REACH [email protected] 
Robert Randle III Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Erin Reilly San Diego State University [email protected]  Quinn Ricci Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] Attachment 4

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Emili Rios United States Space Force [email protected]  Sharen Roden City of Paso Robles [email protected] 
Khaki Rodway Dawn Aerospace [email protected] 
Isaac Rudnick Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Jack Ryan Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Toby Sagi SLO Propulsion Technologies [email protected] David Sanchez Streamline Aero [email protected] 
Mark Scandalis Paso Robles Airprot [email protected]  Kyle Schumacher Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Anmol Sharma Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Stan Shull Alliance Velocity, LLC [email protected]  Paul Sloan City of Paso Robles [email protected] 
Todd Smith Johns Hopkins University [email protected]  Tyler Sova SLO Propulsion Technologies [email protected] Curtis Streeter Deep Blue Integration, Inc. [email protected]  Tomas Svitek Stellar Exploration [email protected] Winnie Trinh Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected]  Laki Vlachos Blue Origin [email protected] 
Anthony Williams Paso Robles High School [email protected]  Kara Woodruff
Office of California State Senator John
Laird [email protected] 
Calla Woodruff
Lyons Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo [email protected] 
Erik Wright Precision Construction Services [email protected]  Diane Zannotti Office of Congressman Jimmy Panetta [email protected]  Zackery Zounes United States Air Force [email protected] Attachment 4

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Appendix B – Agenda
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Appendix C - Presentations
C1 - The Science of the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) –Smith Attachment 4

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C2 - Space to Grow – Shull
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C3 - Dawn Aerospace: Next Generation of Suborbital Vehicles – Rodway Attachment 4

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C4 - Stellar Exploration: Rocket Testing Operations – Meisberger Attachment 4

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C5 - Paso Robles Spaceport Vision, Educational Programs, & Opportunities – Britton, Sloan, & Colvin
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C6 - MLT Research Case Study – Smith
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C7 - Engaging Students in Space Technology Research – DeTurris Attachment 4

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C8 - Space IOT Research Case Study – Derickson
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C9 - Local Community STEM Showcase & Interest – Johnston, Acevedo, Dart, & Williams
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C10 - From the Ground Up to Middle Out: Drones & Balloons for Assistive Suborbital Observations – Jacob
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C11 - Polysat Program – Bleakley
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C13 - Understanding Spaceport, Vehicle, and Payload Licensing – Kiernan
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C14 - Bridging the Gap: Collaboration Between Industry, Academia, & Government for Spaceport Operations – Kiernan, Meyer, Sanchez, Crocket, Mierau
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City of Paso Robles
Launch Site Operators License Scope of Work Evaluation
Introduction: The space sector is experiencing rapid growth and contributing significantly to the economic development of many communities and regions of the country. The industry is also being driven by supportive policy including a new Presidential Executive Order (EO) that aims to greatly reduce the regulatory burden associated with licensing space operations and spaceport development. The policies are backed by material appropriations for civil and national security space programs that must rely on commercial space entities across a diverse and richly complex value chain. These anchor government customers further spur billions of dollars of private capital investment into new commercial ventures, infrastructure, and communities.

Opportunities for development / testing, manufacturing, launch / landing / reentry operations, and many related services exist for communities like Paso Robles. These opportunities will increase as the space industry continues to mature with more diverse launch systems, multiple new and innovative satellite applications, related satellite ground tracking systems, data storage / analytic services, and human spaceflight, to name just a few.

Spaceport as an Economic Engine: To diversify and grow the local economy, the City of Paso Robles is considering the pursuit of a Launch Site Operators License (LSOL) for the municipal airport (PRB) supported by government, commercial, and academic partnerships that can benefit the community and lay the foundation for the space economy to expand locally. For example, a partnership with the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) for propulsion research at the airport was created and continues, while the city also engages with launch service companies as potential tenants.

The City has also consulted with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) regarding an LSOL, i.e., becoming a licensed spaceport. Like airports and industrial business parks, spaceports have served as economic engines, even without near term launch operations, and as a magnet for technology companies.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Attachment 5

Estimate to Complete Spaceport License Efforts: The City of Paso Robles and PRB have made a significant investment to address key LSOL application elements that are potential “go/no-go” topics.

It is our professional opinion that with some additional effort the work to date on the LSOL elements will be accepted by FAA.

To submit a completed LSOL application Paso Robles
will need to complete:
• Detailed technical assessments
– including flight safety and risk analyses.
• Formal Letters of Agreement (LOAs)
– with the U.S. Coast Guard and FAA Air Traffic.
• Updated Airport Layout Plan (ALP)
– to include designated Spaceport operations areas.
• Importantly, this ALP update will be done as part of the Airport Master Plan Update already underway, ensuring
alignment and efficiency.
• Environmental permits – both state and federal.

Recent executive orders (EO) are expected to reduce the scope of environmental review, cutting both time and cost.

The estimated timeline and costs to complete
the LSOL application effort is:
• 12–18 months once funded.
• ~$900,000 - $1.2 million in third-party consultant
and subject matter expert costs.
• If CEQA approvals are no longer required and a federal categorical exclusion (CATEX) is granted, the cost could be reduced to as low as $750,000.

Other Key factors that may affect schedule are:
• FAA/AST workload.
• Whether a launch service provider commits to Paso Robles with near-term operational plans (targeting 2027/28).

Attachment 5

Paso Robles Spaceport
Economic Impact Assessment Study
Results | March 4, 2026
1 Attachment 6

Agenda
 Background and Purpose
 Data and Inputs into the
Economic Model
 Results
2 Attachment 6

Background and Purpose
RIMS II Multipliers
D i r e c t
I m p a c t s
SpaceportRelated
Expenditures
• Employee and
Tenant Payroll
and Operations
• Construction
Projects
I n d i r e c t
I m p a c t s
Estimates of
Goods and
Services From: • The Tourism
Industry by
Visitors to PRB
spent in the
County
• Providers to
Businesses
Located at PRB
I n d u c e d
I m p a c t s
Re-Spending by
Workers From: • At the PRB
• The Tourism
Industry
• Construction
Companies doing
work at PRB
• Suppliers to PRB
Businesses
T o t a l
E c o n o m i c
I m p a c t
 Employment
 Earnings
 Output (Gross
Regional Output)
 Value Added
+ + =
3 Attachment 6

Data and Inputs Used in the Economic Model
4 Attachment 6

 Collected Data
• Paso Robles Master Plan and Airport
financial information
• Letters of Intent and business planning information
• Other U.S. Spaceport Economic Impact studies
 RIMS II Multipliers for San Luis
 Obispo and California
 Value Chain Examples
 Survey to Relevant Airport Business
 Survey to Interested Parties with LOIs
Basic Data Inputs
5 Attachment 6

Relevant Current Tenants at the Airport
to Benefit from a Spaceport at PRB
Andros Engineering
Cal Poly
David Nutile - Helicom
Evans Fabrication
KMBG/Scientific Drilling/Applied Technologies
Lewis Nunno LLC
Loyd's Aviation
Scientific Drilling
Stellar Explorations
Streamline Aerospace
Trelleborg
6 Attachment 6

Organizations with Letters of Intent (LOI)
Cal Poly
Stellar Exploration
Gran Systems
UARX Space Solutions
Wagner Star Industries
Dawn Aerospace
7 Attachment 6

Survey Analysis
T o t a l
B u s i n e s s e s
w i t h L O I s
E x i s t i n g
A i r p o r t
S u r v e y S t a t i s t i c s T e n a n t s
11 5 16 N u m b e r o f
S u r v e y R e q u e s t s
5 2 7 N u m b e r o f
S u r v e y s R e c e i v e d
P e r c e n t R e s p o n s e s 45.45% 40.00% 43.75%
I n f o r m a t i o n G a t h e r e d
Average Salaries
Output per employee
Payroll and Output Taxes
Business Types
Capabilities
Business Location
Spaceport Business Interests
8 Attachment 6

VIS IO N
The PRB spaceport is conceived as a catalyst for economic growth, fostering the development of an advanced aerospace and space industry cluster serving both civilian and military-defense supply chains. This initiative encompasses research and development in aerospace and defense technology, as well as evaluation, testing, design, engineering, and manufacturing facilities that will support comprehensive spaceport operations. 9 Attachment 6

Potential Value Chain Businesses
Paso Robles
Spaceport
External Support Agencies • Advisory Boards
• Academia
• Government*
• Local*
Payload Provider/Operator • Advisory Boards
• Academia
• Government*
• Local
Launch and Flight Logistics
• Power Systems
• Propulsion
• Telemetry
• Interfacing/Deployment • Computer and Electronics
Service Providers
• Mission Design
• Data Analysis
• Hardware Design/
Manufacturing
• Launch Brokering
• Maintenance and Repair • Security and Storage
• Testing
• Payload Missions
• Payload Recovery Services
*Employees do not contribute to economic impact
10 Attachment 6

Expected Industry Groups

I N D U S T R Y
Construction
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
Machinery Manufacturing
Computer & Electronic Product Manufacturing
Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
Computer & Electronic Product Manufacturing
Electrical Equipment, Appliance, & Component Manufacturing Transportation and Warehousing
Chemical Manufacturing
Computer Systems Design & Related Services
Miscellaneous Professional, Scientific, Private Advisory, and Technical Educational Services
Tourism
Other Related Services
JG1
11 Attachment 6

J O B S
Total number of people
employed, both full-time
and part-time.

P a y r o l l
( E a r n i n g s )
Total employment
compensation, including
wages, benefits, and
taxes paid on behalf of
employees.

B u s i n e s s
R e v e n u e s
( O u t p u t )
Administration, privately
developed capital
projects and tenant
sales of goods and
services, and tourists
visiting the spaceport.

Va l u e A d d e d
Total contribution to the
Gross Regional Product.

It includes all payroll,
profits, and business
taxes paid
Economic Impact Measures
12 Attachment 6

Results: Short Term (5 to 10 Years)
Total Economic Impacts
Source: BEA RIMS II Multipliers RS&H Computations
I m p a c t T o t a l E c o n o m i c I m p a c t
Direct Jobs 77
Total Jobs 179
Total Earnings (Payroll) $25,048,000
Total Output $68,408,000
Total Value Added $28,859,000
Total Taxes $6,372,000
13 Attachment 6

Results: Long Term (15 to 20 years)
Total Economic Impacts
Source: BEA RIMS II Multipliers RS&H Computations
I m p a c t T o t a l E c o n o m i c I m p a c t
Direct Jobs 313
Total Jobs 875
Total Earnings (Payroll) $95,899,000
Total Output $334,844,000
Total Value Added $141,786,000
Total Taxes $29,929,000
14 Attachment 6

February 23, 2026
Mayor and City Council
City of Paso Robles
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Dear Mayor Hamon and Members of the City Council,
I write in support of the City of Paso Robles’ efforts to advance the Paso Robles Spaceport initiative at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

The Central Coast has a meaningful foundation in aviation, engineering and advanced manufacturing. I recognize the Spaceport project as a forward-looking regional economic development opportunity that has the potential to diversify the local economy, attract private investment and strengthen the Central Coast’s position within California’s growing aerospace and advanced technology sectors.

Additionally, I appreciate the City’s focus on workforce development and education partnerships.

Coordination with K-20 education and institutions to support workforce development aligned with aerospace, engineering, manufacturing, and technology careers can create clear pathways for local students and workers to access long-term career opportunities.

This initiative also supports the City’s goal of attracting higher-wage, head-of-household jobs that allow residents to live and work locally and contribute to Paso Robles’ long-term resilience and quality of life.

For these reasons, I support the continued evaluation of advancement of the Spaceport project and its associated FAA licensing efforts. My office is available to assist as appropriate. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any questions on this matter.

Sincerely,
Jimmy Panetta
U.S. Representative
19th Congressional District, California
Attachment 7

February 27, 2026
City of Paso Robles
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Subject: Letter of Support for the City of Paso Robles’ Spaceport Initiative Dear Paso Robles City Council Members, Planning Commissioners, and Airport Commissioners,
As the State Senator representing California’s 17th Senate District, which includes the City of Paso Robles, and as a former California Secretary for Natural Resources, I am writing to express my support for the continued progress and exploration of Paso Robles’ Spaceport initiative. Over the years, the City has taken an innovative and forward-thinking approach to this project, recognizing its potential to bring broad benefits that extend well beyond innovation alone. These include driving economic growth, expanding local workforce opportunities, and fostering partnerships with local businesses, TK-12 and higher education institutions, nonprofits, and community organizations across the region.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to continuing to partner with the City as it pursues the next steps in obtaining a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) horizontal launch license and further developing the vision for this important initiative.

Sincerely,
John Laird
State Senator, 17th District
Attachment 7

February 24, 2026
City of Paso Robles
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Subject: Letter of Support – Paso Robles Spaceport Project Dear Mayor Hamon and City Council Members,
As the Assemblymember representing Assembly District 30 and as the chair of the California Legislative Central Coast Caucus, I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the City of Paso Robles’ efforts to advance the Paso Robles Spaceport initiative at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

The Spaceport project is a forward-looking regional economic development opportunity that has the potential to diversify the local economy, attract private investment, and strengthen the Central Coast’s position within California’s growing aerospace and advanced technology sectors. By enabling future aerospace research, testing, and related industrial activity, the project could generate meaningful economic benefits for Paso Robles and the broader region, including business growth, supply-chain opportunities, and expanded tax base stability.

As a former teacher, I am particularly encouraged by the City’s commitment to partnering with K–20 education and training institutions to support workforce development aligned with aerospace, engineering, manufacturing, and technology careers. Collaboration between industry, local schools, community colleges, and universities will help create clear pathways for students and workers to access highdemand skills and long-term career opportunities.

The Paso Robles Spaceport initiative also supports the important goal of attracting higher-paying, head-of-household jobs that allow residents to live and work within the region while contributing to the community’s long-term economic resilience and quality of life.

Attachment 7

For these reasons, I support the City of Paso Robles’ continued evaluation and advancement of the Spaceport project and its associated FAA licensing efforts.

Thank you for your commitment to the future of Paso Robles and the Central Coast, and your leadership in exploring innovative opportunities that promote sustainable economic growth and regional collaboration.

Sincerely,

DAWN ADDIS
Assemblymember, 30th District
Attachment 7

COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Heather Moreno District Five Supervisor
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February 26, 2026
Mayor and Members of the Paso Robles City Council
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Dear Mayor and City Council,
I am writing in my capacity as the District 5 Supervisor for San Luis Obispo County to express my strong support for the City of Paso Robles' efforts to advance the Paso Robles Spaceport initiative at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

Economic development that creates high-quality, head-of-householdjobs is a priority for me, particularly in North County. The Spaceport initiative represents a significant opportunity to diversify the local economy, attract private investment, and position Paso Robles as a leader in California's growing aerospace and advanced technology sectors. Projects of this scale and type have the potential to generate long-term economic benefits well beyond the airport itself, including supplychain activity, workforce growth, and increased regional competitiveness.

I am especially encouraged by the project's potential to support well-paying careers and workforce pathways in engineering, manufacturing, aviation, and related technical fields. Creating opportunities that allow residents to build careers locally, rather than commuting long distances or leaving the region altogether, is essential to the long-term strength and resilience of North County.

Paso Robles has a history of thoughtful planning and innovation, and I appreciate your leadership in exploring forward-looking economic opportunities. The Spaceport initiative has the potential to be a transformational asset for the region, and I support the City's continued pursuit of the evaluations, partnerships, and regulatory steps necessary to move this project forward.

Thank you for your commitment to strengthening the North County economy and expanding opportunity for residents.

Sincerely,
'T^lr-t^V"-
hleather Moreno
Supervisor, Districts
San Luis Obispo County
County of San Luis Obispo Government Center
1055 Monterey Street | San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 | (P) 805-781-4339 [email protected] | slocounty.ca.gov
(F) 805-781-1350
Attachment 7