Commercial spaceflight and low Earth Orbit (LEO) are two areas of growth that will be big in the area, according to the Houston Business Journal.
Jim Chilton, senior vice president of the Space and Launch division of Boeing, told the news agency that NASA and other organizations have embraced the development of an LEO commercial ecosystem to help support things like the International Space Station.
During the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2nd Annual Space Summit held late last year, chamber CEO Thoms Donahue said space is a promising industry after tech.
“The future of our economy is being built right before our eyes and it is poised to upend everything that has come before," he said to the news agency.
The Houston Business Journal reported that the chamber projected that the space industry will be a $1.5 trillion industry in 20 years.
U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce Director Kevin O'Connell also said at the conference that the industry would be worth trillions.
“The topic of the $1 trillion space economy isn’t a pure invention; a number of independent assessments envision rapid growth between now and 2040; one estimate from Bank of America places the space economy near almost $3 trillion by that timeframe," O'Connell said, according to the news agency.
O'Connell said in order for the industry to hit that goal, it must improve narratives and understanding about the impact of space on Earth, bring in talent, look at the insurance and financial environment, focus on space situational awareness and space traffic management, and continue to innovate.
Houston is home to more than 250 aerospace and aviation firms and has many of the 50 largest aerospace manufacturing companies in the nation, according to the agency.
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