Puget Sound region emerging as a satellite capital amid shift to mass production
The Puget Sound region, already known for its robust aerospace industry, has become a national standout in another area: satellites.
Massive satellite constellations in the works by a handful of Seattle-area producers like SpaceX and Amazon's Project Kuiper represent a staggering 81% of the non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) communications satellites that have received approval from the Federal Communications Commission, according to filings with the agency.
“Seattle is the most homegrown, entrepreneurial space ecosystem” that isn’t located near a NASA center or military space base, said Stan Shull, managing director of space advisory firm Alliance Velocity.
Open positions among Seattle space manufacturers topped 1,000 in August, Shull said, a significant jump from the 750 jobs space employers were seeking to fill in July. Employment in the sector has doubled in the past three years in Washington, Shull estimated, accounting for $2 billion to $3 billion in economic output for the state.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/09/04/seattle-emerging-as-satellite-capital.html