Central Coast’s talent will help shape the aerospace industry
The Central Coast’s economy is mostly reliant on tourism. But with its strong ties to the aerospace industry, one day, that same economy could be linked directly to the advancements in space travel, space technologies, etc.
That is the main reason hundreds of locals gathered inside the Cabrillo Pavilion on Oct. 15 to listen to Ventech’s panel of experts on “The Business of Space.” Moderated by former Teledyne Scientific & Imaging CEO Kevin Riley, the panel featured Teledyne’s president of space imaging, Megan Tremor, Umbra’s COO Todd Master and Colleen Gaffey, a law professor at Pepperdine University.
Umbra is a relatively new space tech company. Based in Santa Barbara, Umbra provides access to satellite images and offers dedicated satellite missions.
The company came out of stealth mode in 2021, and in the four years since becoming public, it has experienced tremendous growth, ranking No. 2 on the Business Times Fastest Growing Companies list and accelerating its manufacturing capabilities, recently opening a new plant in Goleta.
Master noted that the company “had a distinct advantage in that we effectively are our own customers, because we’re building a constellation for ourselves and selling the data to our customers.”
Umbra provides high-resolution synthetic aperture radar data, systems, and custom RF mission solutions. Synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, is a remote sensing technique that uses radar to create high-resolution images.
Umbra’s SAR technology allows the company to capture images with a 25-centimeter resolution, even through cloud cover and at night.
“Because of our technology, it was not the customer driving what we needed; it was our choice to make a lot of the decisions we have,” Master said.
SpaceX has made access to Earth orbit dramatically more affordable through the reuse of its rocket boosters and fairings. Master said that alone has had a significant impact on Umbra, which has launched its satellites behind a SpaceX payload.
“I cannot understate how much that reduction has been for us,” he said.
One of the more interesting things about space is how there are resources — such as water, precious metals and more — that are available for humans to exploit. Gaffey noted that exploiting the Moon’s resources is “a trillion-dollar business, potentially, especially with Helium-3.
Helium-3 is a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron, notable for its potential as a clean nuclear fusion fuel and for its use in cryogenics and medical imaging. It is not scarce here on Earth but abundant on the moon.
“The problem with the entire enterprise, however, rests on the idea that you can actually sell what you mine,” Gaffey said.
She noted how Article II in the 1967 Space Treaty notes the non-appropriation of celestial bodies, meaning you cannot plant your flag on the Moon and say it is now yours.
“That is absolutely clear,” she said. “But what about the resources you mine? Can you own and sell that? If you can’t, then what are we going to be doing when we go out there? If you can, then it’s going to be the gold rush. But this is an unanswered question.”
She noted how many liken this process to the Law of the Sea. The sea belongs to no one country, so whatever is caught and sold is their right. Others argue that whatever exploits are found on the moon should be shared for all mankind to reap the rewards.
“But the United States and other countries are not going to be interested in that, because we’re spending billions in research and development and patents and so on, and then we’re not going to want to be sharing this with other countries,” Gaffey said.
She said the U.S. is “basically trying to race China to the moon,” if it is the case that what you mine from space you can profit off of.
Teledyne’s main involvement in aerospace is in providing digital cameras and sensors for space. The company supplied more than a dozen infrared sensors aboard the James Webb Space Telescope, designed to study the earliest stars in the universe and other cosmic happenings. Teledyne also does missile warning and missile tracking detectors, as well as space domain awareness.
Tremer, who previously worked at Flir’s Goleta outlet before it was acquired by Teledyne, noted the Central Coast region has a very strong reputation for having strong talent.
“We’re very fortunate to have a strong technical talent pool locally, partially because of the industry, and many of the companies that participate in it are here along the 101. I think if we tally that up, there is about a billion dollars’ worth of imaging here,” Tremor said.
Tremor added that local community colleges have also been great partners in the workforce development, praising the efforts of Santa Barbara City College and Allen Hancock College in “taking their students and training them specifically to work on things like starter processes and processes critical to our industry.”
Aerospace jobs are highly valuable due to strong job growth, competitive salaries, and working on the cusp of technological advancements.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6% employment growth for aerospace engineers from 2024 to 2034. The median annual wage for aerospace engineers was $134,830 in May 2024, according to the Bureau.
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