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Houston Spaceport sees major tenant contracts and hypersonic testing partnerships, city says
Summary
Aviation Director Jim Sezniak told the committee the Houston Spaceport is attracting major contracts (presentation cited a $4,800,000,000 contract for Intuitive Machines), tenant hiring of roughly 1,800 jobs and efforts to establish a Gulf of Mexico hypersonic testing corridor with FAA and ICAO coordination.
During the Oct. 16 Economic Development Committee meeting, Aviation Director Jim Sezniak highlighted recent tenant wins and development activity at the Houston Spaceport and described plans to expand testing and workforce training.
Sezniak cited "great news for Intuitive Machines," saying the company had landed what the presentation called a $4,800,000,000 contract and that spaceport tenants account for about $10,000,000,000 in contracts overall. He said the spaceport currently supports roughly 1,800 jobs, many of them technical positions.
Sezniak also discussed work with Venus Aerospace on a rotary detonation engine for hypersonic aircraft and said the city is coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration, the state and ICAO on creating a hypersonic/supersonic testing corridor over the Gulf of Mexico. "If we can get this accomplished, that will actually make the Houston Spaceport even more attractive," he said.
On workforce and facilities, Sezniak said San Jacinto College manages the Edge Center at the Spaceport and that Texas A&M is breaking ground on an aerospace institute nearby. The airport reported interest from a range of tenants, from large 100,000‑square‑foot operators to companies seeking 10,000–20,000 square‑foot multi‑tenant spaces; the city issued an RFI and is analyzing responses to support smaller‑scale tenants.
What was asked: Council members asked how aggressively staff markets available space and how the city will create multi‑tenant opportunities for smaller companies; Sezniak said staff is pursuing both large anchors and multi‑tenant development options.
Context and caution: the $4.8 billion figure was stated in the department presentation during the meeting; reporters and readers should verify contract amounts with company filings or government procurement records when precise contract values are material to reporting.
Next steps: staff said it will continue outreach to potential tenants, pursue connectivity projects (a taxiway to link the spaceport to airfield infrastructure) and support training partnerships with local colleges.
Quote: "We're the only spaceport that's truly urban," Sezniak said, explaining the spaceport’s appeal for talent retention and recruitment.
