California Legislature Wants to Prioritize Off-Earth Investments – Orange County Register

FILE – Engineers working on the Psyche spacecraft at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Monday, April 11, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

California has a chance to stake its claim in a galaxy far, far away, state lawmakers say.

Dozens of members of California’s Congressional delegation, including several from Southern California, last week urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to increase funding for the space industry as part of a move by leaders to address recent layoffs and funding shortfalls. He called on investment to be prioritized.

In a letter, 40 members of the House of Representatives and two state senators emphasize the state’s need for greater leadership and continued investment, which will bring good-paying jobs and significant economic growth to California. Stated.

“With the pace of commercial, national security, and civilian space launches increasing, now is the right time to make California a world leader in the space economy,” the lawmakers said.

Because the state is already home to several federal space facilities, including Vandenberg Space Force Base, Los Angeles Air Force Base, NASA facilities such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ames Research Center, and a strong satellite manufacturing industry, lawmakers said He said: “California is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the rapidly growing space economy.”

Madhu Thangavel, an astronautics lecturer at the University of Southern California, said California has a rich heritage in spaceflight. The state was the driving force behind the moon landing in the space race and is home to the offices and headquarters of several industry giants, including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and SpaceX.

“Over the past 10 years, we have seen the development of the commercial space sector,” said Thangavel, who is also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “Specifically, this occurred most often in Southern California.”

“Because of our heritage, no other state can compete with California,” he said. “There’s a whole culture around human spaceflight that exists all over California.”

Since 2019, California has provided $625 million to more than 25 counties through various programs, including one that provides tax credits to businesses based in the state, Newsom spokesman Omar Rodriguez said.・Investing in the space industry.

Some examples include California Competes, an income tax credit available to businesses wishing to move to California or remain in the state. The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Finance Authority provides tax credits to manufacturers of products that reduce pollution and energy use. Rodriguez said the Employment Training Panel is a workforce training program that provides financial assistance to California businesses.

Newsom’s office says California will launch the California Space Industry Task Force in 2022 to help “space industry” through initiatives such as expanding aerospace research and working with universities to strengthen career pipelines into the industry. The aim is to pursue opportunities to capitalize on future growth in the industry. .

Reese Williams, Newsom’s deputy chief of staff, said the task force regularly convenes government and industry leaders to strengthen the state’s commercial space industry.

Despite these efforts, companies continue to move their headquarters and parts of their operations out of California, in part because of the state’s strict regulations for public and private companies and the high cost of doing business. said Thangavel.

In a response to lawmakers, Williams said Newsom is “committed to expanding the nation’s role in our space ecosystem.”

“California innovation is not limited to the earth,” he said. “California looks forward to working with state and federal leaders to continue to grow and lead the nation’s commercial space sector.”

Many lawmakers indicated they were motivated by a desire to preserve space industry jobs in their districts and across California.

Just last month, JPL in Pasadena laid off more than 500 people, about 8% of its total lab staff.

At the time, JPL Director Laurie Lesin broke the news to JPL staff, saying, “Despite our efforts to reduce spending in recent months, these cuts are the most difficult we have ever had to make.” This is one of the measures taken.”

Lesin is seeking funding from Congress for the institute’s much-touted Mars Sample Return Mission, an effort to recover soil and rock samples collected by Mars rovers and return them to Earth for research. I pointed out that I was waiting there. But officials have already called for cost cuts, leading to a hiring freeze, reductions in some MSR mission contracts, budget cuts and the elimination of some field contractors.

He noted that NASA previously told JPL to expect the MSR budget to be $300 million, down 63% from a year ago.

When Congress passed a last-minute funding bill earlier this month, Sen. Alex Padilla said the approved funding deal, which would “provide at least $300 million in funding for the Mars Sample Return Program,” would benefit California’s leadership in the industry. position.

However, the issue did not disappear from the attention of local leaders across Southern California.

“This issue is especially important for the thousands of aerospace jobs here in the San Fernando Valley,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks. This point was echoed by fellow San Fernando Valley Congressman Tony Cárdenas of Panorama City.

“Seeing the respective successes of Texas and Florida’s space efforts, I joined my colleagues in the California delegation to encourage Governor Newsom to further expand efforts in our states,” Cardenas said. said. “We know California has valuable resources and talent that are second to none, which is why I support our state’s investment in the space industry.”