May the 4th be with you: California reaches for the stars with space accomplishments that are out of this world
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May 4, 2026

May the 4th be with you: California reaches for the stars with space accomplishments that are out of this world

SACRAMENTO – "May the Force" be with you on Monday, May 4, California. While California may not be in a galaxy far, far away, we are powering real-world breakthroughs – driving innovation and advancing cutting-edge technologies that are redefining what's possible.

Home to one-third of the nation's space tech companies, 62% of U.S. venture capital, and half of all space-tech VC investment, California is the undisputed center of America's space economy. Aerospace alone drives $35 billion annually into the state's GDP — powering breakthroughs that are redefining what's possible on Earth, and well beyond.

From taking humans back to the Moon and onwards to Mars, California is pioneering the new frontier in space. The Golden State has always been a place where imagination turns into ingenuity, and our nation-leading aerospace industry is inspiring the next generation of space exploration. Through our unparalleled innovation ecosystem and skilled workforce, California is pushing beyond the stars and the universe.

Governor Gavin Newsom

California beyond the galaxy

With diverse aerospace and technology companies, world-class research institutions, and a skilled workforce, the Golden State is driving innovation in advanced technologies.

California remains a leader in the aerospace industry, as the top state for aerospace manufacturing and home to half of the nation's space tech venture capital funding over the past five years. The state is also home to all 5 traditional defense prime contractors: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, and Raytheon.

More than 500 companies and 16,000 workers in the state contributed to NASA's Artemis II – the United State's first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.

California industry leaders made this mission a reality, providing advanced manufacturing; software development; safety and security services; and specialized components such as valves, harnesses, clamps, batteries, and cables.

The Golden State's innovation ecosystem fuels the future:
  • California made up 62% of all U.S. venture capital funding and 31.5% of all venture capital deals last year.
  • The Golden State has the highest density in higher education to create a top talent pipeline, with one college or university for every 64,000 residents.
  • There are more engineers produced in California than any other state.
  • Technology firms based in California gained four times the return on their investment compared to their global peers in the past two, three, and five years.

Investments into the aerospace & defense sector

Within Governor Newsom's California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, the first statewide economic development strategy in more than 20 years, aerospace & defense is an "accelerate" sector – one where additional investments from the public and private sectors have the capacity to "bend the curve" to catalyze sustained growth.

Accordingly, the state has made a number of targeted investments into the sector over the past year, including:

Regional Investment Initiative
  • Last August, the state awarded $16.95 million to two projects designed to provide ecosystem support and uplift the aerospace & defense sector's infrastructure and workforce in the Central Coast.

CalCompetes Tax Credit Program
  • Last June, A.S. Aerospace received an award, resulting in a $19 million investment to continue manufacturing precision aerospace hardware in Palmdale and Santa Clarita.
  • Last November, Hadrian Automation, Inc. was a beneficiary, creating 650 jobs and investing $52 million in Torrance and Northern California to expand its aerospace component manufacturing. True Anomaly also received an award to expand its satellite manufacturing facilities in Long Beach, creating 400 jobs along with a $12.7 million investment.

NASA Centers in California

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In the Golden State, NASA has three main centers and facilities focused on research, flight, and robotic exploration that all contribute to the state's economic competitiveness, create high-paying jobs, and inspire the next generation of explorers.
  • Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley has led NASA in conducting world-class research and development in aeronautics, technology, and science since 1939.
  • Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards is NASA's primary center for high-risk, atmospheric flight research and test projects.
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena leads in robotic space exploration, sending rovers to Mars, probes to the farthest bounds of the solar system, and satellites to advance understanding of our planet.

Generations of aerospace & defense leadership

California's role in powering human spaceflight stretches back decades. The Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon was built almost entirely in California and the original Apollo spacecraft itself was manufactured across the state. The Space Shuttle fleet was assembled in Palmdale, the first U.S. space station, Skylab, was built in Huntington Beach, and the RS-25 engine – originally developed for the Shuttle and now powering the Space Launch System for Artemis II – has been designed and manufactured in the San Fernando Valley since the 1970s.

As of late 2024, California is the top state in the country for:
  • NASA spending: NASA procurement spending at $5.8 billion, accounting for 25% of NASA's total procurement nationwide and resulting in $18.6 billion in economic output for California.
  • NASA-supported R&D: California's share of NASA procurement in the R & D services sector is 67%, representing 19% of NASA-supported jobs in the state.
  • NASA Employment Impact: Each NASA job in California supports an additional 35.7 jobs across the state, resulting in a total employment impact of 66,208 jobs.

Leading the fusion energy ecosystem

Beyond space exploration, California has led the way in opening the door to fusion energy — a clean energy source that mimics the sun's energy. The fusion energy sector currently supports approximately 4,700 jobs across California, generating $1.4 billion in annual economic output.

The state is home to both of the nation's premier fusion research centers: the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, the United States' largest magnetic-confinement (tokamak) user facility, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the world's most energetic laser for inertial-confinement fusion, where researchers achieved the first laboratory fusion ignition in December 2022, marking a critical step in fusion viability. Both facilities support a vibrant startup environment.

The Golden State's quantum advantage

Quantum computing has the potential to solve equations in mere minutes that would take existing computers thousands of years to complete — enabling immense potential to enhance medication discovery, improve artificial intelligence tools, combat climate change, and model complex scenarios.

California is the only state that is home to both the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy quantum federal research centers — and is positioned as the strongest in this space. California is producing the nation's top talent in quantum, is home to five of the world's top 15 artificial intelligence programs (UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA, Stanford, and Caltech) and leads in quantum computing research with centers at UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Southern California, and Stanford, as well as the Google Quantum AI Campus affiliated with UC Santa Barbara, Microsoft's Station Q lab with UC Santa Barbara, and the Amazon Web Services Center for Quantum Computing at Caltech.

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To help capitalize on these long-standing strengths, Governor Newsom last November launched Quantum California – a new statewide initiative that brings together government, academia, and industry to advance quantum innovation, create jobs, and secure California's future in this critical emerging technology.

Quantum and fusion — both priority sectors under the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint — are key examples of California's leadership, with the state leading the way in research and development, talent, and new discoveries.

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