Newsom Tours Rocket Lab at Long Beach 'Space Beach'; a Third of U.S. Space Tech Firms Are in California
LONG BEACH — Governor Gavin Newsom visited Long Beach's 'Space Beach' on October 15 for a tour of Rocket Lab. Founded in New Zealand in 2006, the company set up U.S. operations in Los Angeles in 2013 and moved its headquarters to Long Beach in 2020. Its Electron rocket has flown more than 90 times, the second-most launches of any U.S. rocket, and its reusable Neutron rocket is expected to debut in 2027. Rocket Lab received a $5 million CalCompetes tax credit in 2019, committing to 147 full-time jobs and $25 million of investment in Long Beach and Huntington Beach.
According to the governor's office, one-third of U.S. space technology companies are in California, which accounts for about 40% of U.S. space technology patents and more than 96,000 aerospace manufacturing jobs; more than 500 companies and 16,000 employees take part in NASA's Artemis program. NASA spends about $3 billion a year on science in California — the most of any state, 28% of its R&D budget — along with $5.8 billion in procurement (25%) and $18.6 billion in economic output.
Newsom's California Jobs First blueprint lists aerospace and defense as an 'accelerate' industry contributing about $35 billion a year to state GDP. The state invested $16.95 million in two space projects in August 2025 and another $19 million in seven projects in August 2026 across Kern County, the southern border region and the Bay Area. Newsom said California is cementing its position as a global hub of space innovation.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 火箭实验室「电子号」火箭发射（资料图）。（图：美国国家航空航天局肯尼迪航天中心／Rocket Lab，公共领域）
