Anchored by the nation’s West Coast space launch range and a rich air and space legacy, the Central Coast is a prime launchpad for aerospace and air-mobility innovation.

World’s 2nd Busiest Spaceport

Vandenberg Space Force Base is a leading global site for commercial and government launches — growing cadence and capacity through a new master plan, facility upgrades and federal initiative to create the Spaceport of the Future.

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World’s 2nd Busiest Spaceport

Vandenberg Space Force Base is a leading global site for commercial and government launches — growing cadence and capacity through a new master plan, facility upgrades and federal initiative to create the Spaceport of the Future.

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Leading aerospace cluster

Home to innovators building satellites, drones, electric air taxis and the advanced systems behind NASA, defense and commercial space missions, with 16 airfields and plans for horizontal launch at Paso Robles Airport.

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Cal Poly + UC Santa Barbara

With world-ranked engineering programs, facilities including the CubeSatLab and NSF Quantum Foundry, and active NASA, Air Force Research Lab and industry partnerships, the two universities fuel a pipeline of talent, resources and innovation.

$1.5B

regional industry

7000

aerospace workers

16

airfields

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Interactive space + aerospace tour

Explore the regional assets launching the new commercial space race into orbit.…

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Stellar propels space missions

Writer Sara Roahen highlights Stellar Exploration's rocket propellant systems for the rapidly expanding space industry.…

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Umbra redefines satellite industry

Writer Sara Roahen shares how Umbra made high-resolution imagery from space available to all.…

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Space master plan driving progress

Regional collaboration is maximizing opportunity for public and private investment at and around VSFB.…

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FastCo: The place for space

The commercial space industry is turning its focus to Vandenberg Space Force Base and revitalizing the region.…

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Paso spaceport planning

Paso Robles + Cal Poly are pursuing horizontal-launch spaceport designation alongside a developing tech corridor.…

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Central Coast aerospace companies make headlines

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“This is such an exciting time to be involved in space. It is a really exciting time to be doing that here on the Central Coast.”

Tory Bruno CEO, United Launch Alliance

“The Central Coast is a very special place with leading aerospace companies and technology infrastructure that attract incredibly talented people. This area has the right people and there is something special about this community.”

Gabe Dominocielo President/Co-Founder, Umbra

“We have a very exciting future on the Central Coast. We’re here to stay.”

Eric Krystkowiak Director of Vandenberg launch site operations, SpaceX

“There’s a lot of deep expertise [at Vandenberg] in how to have robust government and commercial operations.”

Tim Ellis Founder/CEO, Relativity Space

“We’ve got great partners in the area … that includes UCSB and Cal Poly SLO, and we believe that there’s a strong talent pool in Southern California.”

Douglas Greene Senior Director of Talent and Acquisition, Raytheon Intelligence & Space

“This area is a crucible of technology and capability that you can find nowhere else in the world.”

Tim Cahill Missiles and Fire Control Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin

“Space is the final frontier for the Central Coast economy, and Vandenberg is playing a key role.”

Pacific Coast Business Times editorial

“None of our companies would exist in the way that we do but for the talent pool. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve committed so significantly to growing in California, that immense amount of talent.”

Caryn Schenewerk Vice President of Regulatory & Government Affairs, Relativity Space

ASSETS + RESOURCES

Woman holding a cubesat

CubeSat Laboratory

Continuing Cal Poly’s legacy in developing the CubeSat standard, the independent CubeSat Lab has supported 175+ missions, developed and launched 12 CubeSats in house, and conducted $25+ million in sponsored projects.

CubeSat Lab
stock image of a rocket laucnhing

Aerospace incubator

Cal Poly’s successful HotHouse incubator has debuted the Launch Pad, an aerospace-focused offshoot in Grover Beach, offering a range of services to support and scale space and aeronautics startups.

Aerospace incubator
Students in front of a plane

Aviation technical training program

Cuesta College, in partnership with ACI Jet, has launched an aviation maintenance technical training program to meet the rapidly rising aviation and space workforce demand.

Cuesta aviation
man launching a test drone

NPS JIFX field lab

Camp Roberts hosts the Naval Postgraduate School’s Joint Interagency Field Experimentation program, where industry, academia and military collaborate on testing and demonstrating new technologies including autonomous drones, geospatial intelligence and cybersecurity.

JIFX

Space + Aerospace Companies

Click the dots to see companies in the region, and find detailed company, industry and regional data in our data center.

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Discover how our coalition is launching the future of space and aerospace on the Central Coast

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