Editor's note: As 2022 comes to a close, InnovationMap is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston innovation. In the Space City, there were dozens of space tech stories, from experts' thoughts on commercialization to the IPO of a Houston company. Here are five Houston space tech-focused articles that stood out to readers this year — be sure to click through to read the full story.
Overheard: Houston needs to strengthen infrastructure, workforce to maintain Space City status
Space experts discussed the city's role in the space industry at a recent event. Photo via NASA
In no time at all, humans will return to the moon and as they make the first spacewalks in fifty years — wearing suits designed in Houston — they will call down to earth, and only one city in the world will be named on the radio transmissions.
Houston is the Space City — but what will it take to maintain that moniker? This was a big topic of the Greater Houston Partnership's second annual State of Space event hosted on Tuesday, October 11.
A diverse and impressive panel discussed the Space City's future, the upcoming moon missions, commercializations, and more. Read more.
Houston-based space tech company to go public via SPAC merger
The deal between Intuitive Machines and a SPAC is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 and would value the combined company at $815 million. Photo courtesy of Intuitive Machines
A Houston-based space exploration company that’s been tapped by NASA to take cargo to the moon plans to go public through a SPAC merger with a New York-based shell company.
Intuitive Machines LLC, founded in 2013, aims to merge with New York City-based Inflection Point Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Once the merger is completed, shares of the combined company (Intuitive Machines) will trade on the Nasdaq stock market under the ticker symbol LUNR.
The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, would value the combined company at $815 million. Read more.
Space City News: Houston Spaceport receives grant, unicorn hires architecture firm
Catch up on two big pieces of news landing at the Houston Spaceport. Image via fly2houston.com
The Space City is starting 2022 off strong with news launching out of the Houston Spaceport — a 400-acre space in Southeast Houston.
The two big headlines include a unicorn company releasing the latest details of its earthbound project and fresh funds from the state to support the space ecosystem in Texas. Read more.Read more.
Overheard: Space experts discuss commercialization, innovation, and Houston's future
What's Houston's role in the modern era for aerospace? And how can the industry foster public-private collaboration? Experts weighed in at a recent event. Photo via NASA
The aerospace industry — much more than other sectors — is run by a mixture of civil, commercial, and military players. And each of these verticals operate very differently.
At a Houston Tech Rodeo event called "Lasso the Moon" put on by Space Force Association and TexSpace, aerospace experts representing various entities — from startups to big tech to education and military organizations — discussed the future of space innovation. Read more.
Iconic Houston-area landmark rockets to No. 1 in new list of best employers in Texas
Johnson Space Center astronauts and team enjoy the best workplace in Texas. Johnson Space Center/Facebook
NASA must be over the moon about a new ranking of the best employers in Texas.
A new list from Forbes and Statista puts NASA at No. 1 among the state’s major employers, both those based in Texas and those with a significant presence here.
NASA’s $1.5 billion Johnson Space Center complex occupies more than 1,600 acres in Clear Lake. The site, home to the space agency’s mission control and astronaut training operations, employs roughly 3,000 NASA workers, along with thousands of NASA contractors. NASA’s headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
It’s estimated that Johnson Space Center contributed more than $4.7 billion to the Texas economy in 2018. Read more.