Space industry is expected to grow in 2026

TEXAS — Blasting off into 2026, the space industry is only expected to grow in the new year.

According to a report by The Space Workforce Incubator for Texas (SWIFT), the U.S. space economy could equal $428 billion in economic value, add 300,000 additional jobs and tens of billions in employee compensation over the next decade.

SWIFT performed a study to discover what types of jobs are needed at major companies. They performed what they call a “bottoms-up” analysis, directly examining 5,000 active job postings from 27 leading employers in the space economy as of Aug. 2025. The findings reveal a workforce in transition.

“Half of all the new jobs advertised are for non-degree individuals,” said Geoff Tudor, president of SWIFT.

The organization is hoping to get more people in Texas trained to do more technical work to get more space companies to come to Texas.

“What we saw in the job openings was an enormous need for technical talent,” said Leon Vanstone, vice president of SWIFT.

The hope is to be the leading place for space innovation. However, California still dominates the national picture, with the most space job postings. 

“Our focus is on workforce education training. If you can build a pipeline of people, you can build a pipeline of the next great space company,” Tudor said.