Apparently, space isn't quite the vast expanse it used to be.

As of the summer of 2024, active satellites in orbit numbered more than 10,000, according to the U.S. Office of Government Accountability. One estimate predicts the launch of an additional 58,000 satellites by 2030.

“By the way, those satellites aren’t going up in a geostationary orbit where they never come home,” said former Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine, a former administrator with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and managing partner of Tulsa-based The Artemis Group. “Those satellites are going into low-Earth orbit where they capture the upper atmosphere, and they degrade. And every five years, you have to reconstitute the entire constellation.

“What does that mean? You have a strong pipeline for the future.  The bottom line is that there’s a pipeline for space-based capabilities that I think we, Tulsa in particular, is really capable of serving.”

Monday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s board meeting, Bridenstine spoke about the future of local economic development opportunities in Tulsa, which already are taking shape.

Agile Space Industries, an in-space propulsion technology company based in Colorado, said late last year that it plans to build a testing facility in Tulsa.

The proposed facility, scheduled to be located on 20 acres adjacent to Tulsa International Airport, will support NASA, commercial space companies and the U.S. Department of Defense with testing for in-space propulsion technology.

“When it comes to building propulsion for these satellites, historically, we would put a satellite in orbit and leave it there without any propulsion,” said Bridenstine, who was part of a discussion moderated by Kim Wilmes, the Chamber's senior Vice President of economic development. “Now what we’re doing is we have satellites that have high-energy maneuvering ability to get out of the way of debris, to get out of the way of a threat.

“That capability requires what we call hypergolic propulsion, which basically means it doesn’t require any kind of combustion. You don’t have to light it on fire. It (hyperbolic propulsion) is highly reliable, but we need to test it. And there’s nowhere to test it.”

The Artemis Group provides critical government affairs, business development, and strategic advisory services to space and defense companies. The Agile project would set Tulsa up as a major player in the emerging space industry, boosting the city's ability to attract satellite manufacturers.

“…Look, this is becoming a bigger and bigger market; there are way more people who need testing than testing is available,” Bridenstine said. “Let Tulsa step up. If we can build a test facility, what we can do is we can become a magnet for all these in-space propulsion companies that need testing. And we’re working with the Air Force Research Lab now to generate the standards by which all thrusters will be tested.

 “So, if those standards have to be tested and they have to be tested by this facility, all in-space propulsion for the (U.S.) Department of Defense, specifically, is going to have to come through Tulsa. That’s a great opportunity for us to attract all kinds of different businesses to come and see what we’re doing and see more of the City of Tulsa.”