MIDLAND TIMES
Feb 3, 2025
During the Midland Development Corporation (MDC) board meeting on Feb. 3, Oscar Garcia, CEO of InterFlight Global, outlined the projected expansion of the space industry, estimating that the global space economy will reach $1.8 trillion by 2035.
Garcia presented an overview of aerospace development opportunities in Midland at the meeting, highlighting the city's growing role in the global space economy. He noted that space applications are expected to grow at a faster rate than the global gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade, reflecting increasing investments in aerospace technology and infrastructure.
Texas is positioned to capture approximately 20% of the U.S. space market, representing a potential $240 billion economic impact. Within the state, Midland’s role as an "anchor" spaceport could contribute $48 billion, reinforcing its importance in the growing aerospace sector.
Garcia emphasized the potential for Midland to become a hub for spaceport-to-spaceport connectivity, given the 13 spaceports located within the region.
“We have 13 spaceports around us, and once we look at possible connectivity between spaceports, we have found 27 possible spaceport-to-spaceport routes for Midland, which is starting to position us as a hub in the center of the spaceport community,” Garcia said during the presentation. The potential routes range in distance from 250 to 7,670 miles.
He also highlighted progress in developing an aerospace corridor. “The aerospace corridor development has been going on for almost four years now,” he said. “We are ready to start testing and flying the corridors between Midland and Spaceport America.”
In 2024, three new aerospace companies—Starfighters Space, Space Force Association, and Castelion—were brought to the region, with two of them establishing headquarters in the city. By mid-2024, 11 new aerospace companies had relocated to Midland, generating over 250 aerospace and defense jobs and bringing additional hardware, facilities, and equipment to the area. Midland now hosts six aerospace industrial clusters at the spaceport and the West Launch Site.
InterFlight Global’s 2025 priorities for Midland’s spaceport include launching high-speed flight campaigns with Starfighters Space, advancing Firehawk launches, and continuing MITRE airspace work and KBR vertical launch site development. Plans also involve creating a multi-user Midland West vertical launch facility with weapons launch capabilities into White Sands Missile Range and the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts will focus on establishing a U.S. Space Force presence in Midland while securing tenants for new hangars and operators for the Midland Air and Spaceport Commerce Center.
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