Companies producing aircraft, guided missiles, space vehicles, aircraft engines, propulsion units and related parts comprise the aerospace industry. Other sectors of the economy depend on aerospace businesses and related disciplines for technical skills and technologies that are critical elements of the national security infrastructure and improve America’s position in the global marketplace.
The Houston region is a worldwide leader in the aerospace industry. Home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center and a diverse network of research and education organizations with ties to aerospace technology, the Houston region is poised to further capitalize on its success as an aerospace leader.
The industry is anchored by the $1.5 billion Johnson Space Center complex, which alone employs more than 17,000 federal civil service workers and contract personnel. The Johnson Space Center manages the design, development and assembly of the International Space Station; manages the Space Shuttle program; serves as NASA’s lead center for life sciences research and application; selects and trains astronauts; controls manned space flights; directs industrial efforts to design, develop, build and upgrade piloted space craft; and oversees many medical, scientific and engineering experiments conducted aboard the space shuttle. All said, it is one of NASA’s largest research and development facilities.
Throughout the region, organizations collaborate together and with NASA to make new discoveries in aerospace and beyond. Their research and developments led to the technologies that power our cell phones, satellite television systems, cordless tools, smoke detectors and even tiny heart valves. Life-saving and life-enhancing technologies emerge every day from aerospace research.
The industry is further bolstered by several major employers, including:
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Barrios Technology, Inc.
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Blackhawk Management Corporation
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GB Tech Inc.
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Hamilton Sundstrand Management
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Hernandez Engineering, Inc.
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InDyne, Inc.
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Lockheed Martin Company
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MEI Technologies
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MRI Technologies
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Oceaneering Space Systems
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Raytheon Technical Services Co., LLC
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SPACEHAB, Inc.
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Tessada & Associates
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The Boeing Company
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United Space Alliance
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USM, Inc.
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Wyle Laboratories, Inc.
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Wyman-Gordon Company
