When it comes to space satellite production, industry experts say the globe has an insatiable thirst.
Tuesday, Tulsa made plans to help quench it.
Maryland-based Quantum Space announced that it is investing $80 million into a facility that will make Ranger spacecraft, a highly maneuverable spacecraft engineered for defense and commercial missions.
The plant, which will be located in the former Spartan manufacturing building at Tulsa International Airport, will serve as the company’s primary site for large propulsion tank manufacturing and precision spacecraft parts production, initially creating 50 jobs.
“The way we are operating in space today is not going to work with what the future looks like,” Quantum Space CEO Jim Bridenstine said at a news conference before a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 people at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. “We need higher-energy orbits. That means we need more energy in our satellites.
“…We need a platform that we can reproduce thousands of times, and by the way, doing it thousands of times a year. That’s what we’re going to do right here in the City of Tulsa.”
Space is being used daily in nearly every facet of life, from navigation to communication to national security, Bridenstine said. As many as 70,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are expected to be launched during the next five years, according to Goldman Sachs Research.
Quantum Space is pursuing both national security and commercial space markets, positioning the Ranger platform as a mission-adaptable solution at a moment when demand for maneuverable, long-endurance spacecraft is accelerating.
The U.S. Space Force is increasing its budget from $31 billion to $71 billion, and Quantum wants Tulsa to devour a large slice from that pie, Bridenstine said.
“I honestly did not know about all the capabilities that exist here,” Quantum Executive Chairman Kam Ghaffarian said. “…Huntsville, Alabama is called the ‘Rocket City.’ Cape Canaveral (home of the Kennedy Space Center) is in Florida. There are other cities in the United States that are named for different things, like Houston, Texas (headquarters of NASA)
“What if we called Tulsa, Oklahoma ‘Satellite City, USA?’ That would be great if we could do that and create a lot of jobs.”
The Tulsa facility expands Quantum Space’s growing U.S. manufacturing footprint, complementing its propulsion integration and test capabilities in Hawthorne, Calif., and its engineering and mission development headquarters in Rockville, Md.
The plant in Tulsa will initially occupy 25,000 to 40,000 square feet and will be equipped for CNC machining, friction stir welding, assembly and fabrication, non-destructive testing and pressure testing. These capabilities are critical to producing high-performance spacecraft structures and propulsion systems at scale, enabling faster production timelines and greater mission flexibility.
“Years from now, when people tell the story of how Tulsa emerged as a major player in the future of the space economy, they will point to this moment,” said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, which helped recruit Quantum. “They will focus on this investment. And they will recognize the vision and leadership of Quantum Space co-founder Kam Ghaffarian, CEO Jim Bridenstine and President Kerry Wisnosky. Gentlemen, thank you for believing in Tulsa.”
Quantum Space will occupy a move-in-ready interim facility while renovation of the Spartan Building is completed. Operations are targeted to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols connected Quantum’s announcement with his visit Monday to the nearby IC Bus manufacturing plant.
“It dawned on me on the way over here that, in just like a half-mile radius, we are building the buses that are taking kids to school, where they first learn how to dream,” he said. “Now, we’re going to build these great vehicles that are going to take that innovation, that wonderment, all the way into space, and it’s going to happen all right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. How cool is that?”
