{"id":19344,"date":"2016-06-21T17:05:19","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T09:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/newspace-2016-why-seattle-is-emerging-as-a-major-hub-for-commercial-space\/"},"modified":"2016-06-21T17:05:19","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T09:05:19","slug":"newspace-2016-why-seattle-is-emerging-as-a-major-hub-for-commercial-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/newspace-2016-why-seattle-is-emerging-as-a-major-hub-for-commercial-space\/","title":{"rendered":"NewSpace 2016: Why Seattle is emerging as a major hub for commercial space"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Charles
Charles Beames, president of Vulcan Aerospace, talks about the Seattle space scene at NewSpace 2016. (GeekWire photo \/ Nat Levy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first NewSpace conference in Seattle opened Tuesday, a giant leap for the Seattle space scene.<\/p>\n

It is also the first time executives from the region\u2019s space companies can sleep in their own beds during a big conference.<\/p>\n

The growing space sector in the Seattle area represents the next evolution of the regional economy, according to a panel of executives from Seattle-area space companies, moderated at the conference Tuesday by GeekWire aerospace and science editor Alan Boyle. Boeing and, later, technology companies like Microsoft and Amazon brought talent to the area and paved the way for Seattle\u2019s space ascendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoeing and the aerospace engineering pool that Boeing brought to the Seattle area was a key spawning ground for space companies in the Seattle area,\u201d said Fred Wilson, director of business development of Aerojet Rocketdyne. Based in Redmond, Aerojet Rocketdyne was one of the area\u2019s first space companies. It was founded in 1959 by four Boeing engineers. Former employees work at many space startups around the area.<\/p>\n

To succeed, space companies need to bring together people from a variety of fields, panelists said. Small space startups in the area are recruiting top people in technology, finance, marketing and other disciplines to turn their big ideas into sustainable business models. Space ventures aren\u2019t just about aerospace engineering and hardware anymore, but about information technology, and that\u2019s a big reason why Seattle is attracting space ventures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about the future and space you need access to three things: it\u2019s about software, it\u2019s about big data, it\u2019s about capital, and Seattle is an epicenter for all three,\u201d said Jason Andrews, CEO of Spaceflight Industries.<\/p>\n