As a new commercial space race heats up around the world, the Houston Spaceport is getting ready to keep the pace.
This year, the system will begin work on a $16 million taxiway project at Ellington Airport after Houston City Council approved the measure in March. Jim Szczesniak, the Houston Airport System’s new director, told the Houston Business Journal that the taxiway came as Spaceport tenants want to be closer to their contractors.
“Space is a global industry, and this will give space for direct taxiway access because some of our tenants are getting their parts from global suppliers,” Szczesniak said.
And more work is being done to lure the supporting businesses of the space economy to Houston. Szczesniak said that Houston Airports, responding to feedback from the Spaceport’s existing tenants, is considering options to open more space for new tenants, including potential anchor tenants that could occupy large single-tenant facilities.
Currently, the Spaceport’s three anchors are Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR), which made history in February by landing a private spacecraft on the moon’s surface; Axiom Space, which is assembling the world’s first commercial space station; and Collins Aerospace, a division of North Carolina-based RTX Corp. (NYSE: RTX), which has won NASA contracts for spacesuits and other space infrastructure.
“We have interest from a lot of [the anchor tenants’] suppliers in coming to the Spaceport as well,” Szczesniak said. “We’re always on the hunt for additional anchor tenants for the facilities that are going to take larger portions of space.”
All three anchor tenants have either completed or are constructing new manufacturing facilities at the Spaceport, with Axiom Space most recently opening the first phase of its manufacturing hub in December 2023. HAS is working with all three to explore opportunities for expansions of those campuses, Szczesniak said.
The Spaceport, which has nearly 600 acres available, also is home to smaller tenants and those focused on other areas of aerospace, such as Venus Aerospace, which is developing a hypersonic transport. Szczesniak said that companies needing less space could be accommodated by new multitenant buildings in the Spaceport.
The commercial space economy is expected to generate $1.8 trillion worldwide by 2035, and that has led to new startups spawning across the country, including in Houston. Szczesniak confirmed that the Spaceport is working to increase the level of aerospace startup activity in Houston through work on a 10,000-square-foot incubator in the Collins Aerospace building.
“One of the key things we see is that so much space business is happening so fast,” Szczesniak said.
The Spaceport isn’t the only location attempting to attract companies to Houston. NASA confirmed that it had completely leased its newly announced Exploration Park acreage, which was created after freeing up land from the Johnson Space Center’s controlled access area. Over 200 acres were leased to Austin-based American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation, which will build and lease testing, office and laboratory space to more companies.
Szczesniak said that as more facilities like Exploration Park open in Houston, it forces the Spaceport to adapt to not being the only option for private companies. But overall, the competition will benefit the city, he said.
“A rising tide lifts all boats in the Houston area,” Szczesniak said. “We’ve got the three anchor tenants that are going to help [Exploration Park], and [Exploration Park] is going to help our tenants. Putting the space back into Space City is what’s going to set Houston apart because there’s going to be so much center of gravity here."
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