UTSA announces new research center to advance space tech, operations

Technology and workforce development for the space economy is a growing priority in federal and state policy. In 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a strategy outlining its approach to cislunar space, titled the National Cislunar Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy. The plan affirms the growing role of cislunar space in diplomacy and national security and aims to bolster support for research and development in the field. At the state level, the Texas Space Commission was established in 2024 to sustain and grow Texas' leadership in space exploration.

"We may not always think about space technology as being integral to national security," Silva said, "but when you consider the fact that our daily lives rely on satellites for GPS services, telecommunications and weather forecasting, it's clear that cislunar space is a linchpin in our national defense. Our new center is poised to leverage UTSA expertise to strengthen national security and Texas leadership in the emerging trillion-dollar cislunar economy."

Satellites can also be used in agriculture, logistics and energy to monitor crops, traffic patterns and energy grids. They can optimize supply chains and strengthen maritime security by monitoring ports. They also provide key insight into the environment, for instance by monitoring freshwater availability providing early warnings of natural disasters such as floods and wildfires.

Space infrastructure represents a rapidly growing market in the global economy. A 2022 McKinsey & Company report projects that the industry will grow from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035. This growth will be catalyzed by the rapidly increasing cost-effectiveness of launch, which has been enabled by companies based or operating in Texas such as Blue Origins, Firefly and SpaceX. This expansion will likely spur corresponding growth in the job market, with U.S. aerospace engineering jobs expected to increase by 6% between 2023 and 2033.

CSTOR will support a range of technological space research focus areas in which UTSA excels, including advanced chemical propulsion, fuel for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), lunar habitation and surface operations, secure satellite communications and vehicle atmospheric reentry. UTSA is also home to space-related expertise in advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, energy storage in extreme environments, neuromorphic AI, power systems, robotics, and semiconductor devices for high-power, extreme environment applications.