These giant white structures called radar domes at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado contain huge satellite dishes.
CNBC
This story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business centers with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.
In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, a mile closer to space than sea level, lies a region that is home to a thriving cluster of airlines.
It may not be obvious to anyone driving around Denver and Boulder that there are hundreds of companies actively working to meet some of America's most complex national security needs and build innovative products like those seen in a sci-fi movie.
But the local industry's takeoff is undeniable: The aerospace industry has grown 88% over the past two decades, more than any other emerging industry in the Denver and Boulder metro areas during that time period, according to a CNBC analysis. Now, 191 aerospace companies support 29,000 jobs in the region, the Colorado Space Alliance reports.
“When we were making Voyager and thinking about the best growth markets where we could access talent…Denver really rose to the top,” Dylan Taylor, Voyager Space's chairman and CEO, told CNBC's Morgan Brennan. Interview on CNBC's “Manifest Space” podcast. He founded the privately held multinational aerospace conglomerate in 2019 in Denver.
Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor will travel to space on a Blue Origin flight in 2021.
AFP via Getty Images
“I think talent coupled with alignment from government were really important considerations, and then also if you look at other elements of Denver, whether it's access to capital, this emerging venture capital market, especially the Boulder corridor,” he added.
The list of companies in the region ranges from the largest and oldest main contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing And Northrop Grumman To cutting-edge commercial and defense technology startups like Ursa Major and True Anomaly. United Launch Alliance, BAE Systems And RTX It also has a presence in the region, as do private space companies in addition to Voyager such as Sierra Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which have aggressively expanded their local footprint in recent years.
Follow and listen to CNBC's “Manifest Space” podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.
“I think aerospace is the fulcrum of our entire economy now,” said U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., who previously served as governor of Colorado and before that mayor of Denver.
“It's a community working together on space,” said Hickenlooper, who has been cited by local business leaders as a major proponent of space in the region and state. “It's not dog eat dog. It's all dogs working together. It's hunting like wolves.”
For Voyager, this was true. The company has so far made seven acquisitions – the first two of which were local startups. “We now have about 700 employees, have a significant amount of revenue, and are looking to get into the public markets at some point,” Taylor said.
Its most famous project, Starlab, is an attempt to replace the aging International Space Station. Voyager has teamed up with Airbus in a joint venture to build the commercial space station, with Mitsubishi recently announced as a strategic partner and equity owner. The space station is expected to be launched into orbit on SpaceX's powerful Starship rocket system, which is under development.
For Taylor, who went to space himself after a flight aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard, Denver-Boulder's space story extends beyond Voyager as well. He has spent years investing in the sector personally, as an early backer of over 50 startups, including Orbit Fab.
Orbit Fab employees manufacture the company's refueling ports for satellites.
CNBC
With support from neighboring Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, Orbit Fab moved into a nearly 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility after relocating from California in 2021.
“We started the company in Silicon Valley. We moved to Colorado mainly because of the workforce. There's a bigger aviation workforce here,” said Daniel Faber, CEO and founder of Orbit Fab.
Since making the move, the company has grown from six to 60 employees, and is focusing on building “fueling stations” in space to fuel satellites. Historically, many satellites have been shut down not because their payloads or instruments are no longer functional, but because they have run out of power.
“If you run out of fuel on the highway, AAA can come and deliver the fuel to you. That's actually the typical way we would do it in space,” Faber said. The startup recently unveiled a flight-qualified refueling port — or gas cap — that is commercially available for $30,000 per unit.
Denver-area startup Orbit Fab is building satellite refueling ports that allow them to refuel in space.
CNBC
Like many companies in the region, OrbitFab counts the U.S. military, specifically the Space Force, among its largest customers. One thing that makes the broader Denver-Boulder area unique is its strong military presence, including three separate bases for the U.S. Space Forces, the U.S. Space Operations Command, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in nearby Colorado Springs.
“I think the location is very important,” said Col. Heidi Dexter, Delta II Space Force Base commander at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado. “The partnership we have with all the local defense contractors and startups gives us the opportunity to reduce the cost of space operations, as well as innovate so quickly that it is critical to national defense.”
Colorado now boasts more private aviation employees per capita than any other state, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.
“What the CEO of a fast-growing company wants to hear is that young people will be attracted,” Hickenlooper said. “Once you attract young people, eventually entrepreneurs come along, and businesses start.”
