Gabe Sherman gets passionate when he talks about The Artemis Group, a Tulsa company for which he serves as president. 

“We are 100 percent focused on doing what’s right to maintain American pre-eminence in space,” he said. “Policies, capabilities, whatever it takes…we want that to be the goal. 

“Anybody who does any work in space understands why right now our adversaries are targeting space. That’s because everything that we do when it comes to our way of life just as citizens or how we fight, win or prosecute war is all dependent on space-based capabilities. If you take space away from the United States, we’re in the hurt locker.” 

Sherman was a featured speaker Friday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Aerospace Council meeting at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.  

About 30 people attended the gathering, which was sponsored by Ingenics Consulting.  

The Artemis Group is led by former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who served as the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District from January 2013 to April 2018. 

Boosting Bridenstine and his company’s importance is a space sector that is projected to expand from roughly $630 billion (2023) to $1.35 trillion by 2035. The number of satellites in orbit today (about 15,000) is expected to reach 100,000 by 2030. 

Sherman said the space industry shows strong market resilience, driven by increased government spending that can offset economic headwinds and boost private investment. 

“We are trying as a country to not only get back to the moon with people, but we are doing it robotically, as well, because we want to lead on the moon and beyond,” Sherman said. “When we think of the moon and its importance, just getting there is just tip of the iceberg. 

“Once we get there, there is so much economic activity and opportunity on the lunar surface, it’s going to drive greater commercial utilization of space and drive us toward that 2 trillion-dollar (economic impact) number.” 

During the past 14 months, Oklahoma has hosted more than a dozen space companies, landing two: Dawn Aerospace and Agile Space Industries. 

Dawn is an international company that is establishing a U.S. headquarters at the Oklahoma Air & Space Port in Burns Flat, about 200 miles southwest of Tulsa. 

Agile Space Industries is an in-space propulsion technology company based in Colorado that plans to break ground Jan. 23 on a testing facility in Tulsa. 

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

“This will be a world-class test facility that will be right here in Tulsa just right down the street on airport property,” Sherman said. “What this space industry does, if you have world-class testing capabilities, the industry rallies around it. 

“It’s kind of the central node for a space cluster. So, we will have an anchor facility in northeastern Oklahoma where we are going to see space industry growth.” 

For more information about the Aerospace Council, please call Angie Zaricor, a senior director of economic development at the Chamber, at 918-560-0217.