Paso Robles is preparing to enter the next phase of its proposed commercial spaceport. City officials are expected to hire consultants this fall to help complete the technical work required for federal approval.
The Paso Robles City Council is expected to consider a contract bid in September. If approved, the consultant would begin work in October on the final technical, environmental and safety studies needed for the city's spaceport application.
The city has spent the past several years working through the Federal Aviation Administration's pre-application process. According to city officials, most of the application has already been completed, but the remaining requirements mandate specialized attention from a third-party consultant, according to the city’s Economic Development Manager, Paul Sloan.
If the project stays on schedule, the city hopes to complete the FAA application process and obtain a spaceport license by early 2028.
The proposed license would authorize the Paso Robles Municipal Airport as a location where horizontal launches could take place. Unlike vertical rocket launches conducted at Vandenberg Space Force Base, horizontal launches take off in ways similar to aircrafts at the airport.
However, receiving a spaceport license would not authorize launches immediately. Any aerospace company interested in operating from the spaceport headquarters would still need to obtain its own separate FAA launch license before conducting flights.
Sloan said the proposal is intended to support local graduates.
“The whole idea is to build the educational pipeline so our young people see a path directly into good paying jobs with the potential to be able to stay here on the Central Coast,” Sloan said.
The city has partnered with educational institutions including Cal Poly, Cuesta College, and local K-12 career technical education programs as part of the proposal. Officials say the goal is to prepare students for careers in aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing, and skilled technical trades.
Sloan said the city has also begun discussions with several aerospace companies that have expressed interest in the project, including Dawn Aerospace. The company develops horizontal launch vehicles, or spaceplanes, and has previously partnered with Cal Poly on student aerospace projects.
Beyond pursuing a spaceport license, Paso Robles is also developing an aerospace technology corridor around its municipal airport. Aerospace companies are already using test sites at the Paso Robles airport to test small propulsion systems, according to city officials. The city says it hopes those facilities will attract research, development and manufacturing jobs to diversify the local economy.
