Welcome
For those who were there at the time, the crumbling of Long Beach's aircraft production industry — an economic engine here since 1941 — foretold dark times. Many believed, understandably, that aerospace here was finished.
But today, just 11 years after Boeing shut down the last of its Long Beach plants, the city is once again flying high.
Powered by a surge of venture-backed startups, advances in manufacturing and launch systems, and a robust local talent pipeline — fed in large part by California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) — dozens of new aerospace companies and thousands of new jobs have made the city one of the nation's fastest-growing hubs for commercial space innovation.
This resurgence has a name: Space Beach.
At its core, Space Beach is a powerful alignment between industry, education and the city itself. It wouldn't be possible without CSULB, whose aerospace program ranks No. 3 in the nation among non-doctoral programs in U.S. News & World Report — part of a strong showing across the Hung Family College of Engineering, where civil engineering ranks No. 6, computer engineering No. 11 and the college overall No. 26.
The rapid expansion of today’s space industry mirrors the post-World War II aerospace boom, when CSULB, the U.S. military and private companies forged lasting partnerships to develop a highly skilled local workforce and shape the early space race. In the intervening decades, CSULB has remained a partner to industry leaders and a cornerstone of bold initiatives that presaged the Space Beach enterprise.
Today, the university's Space Beach Initiative advances this legacy by strengthening connections across the region’s aeronautics and astronautics landscape. In collaboration with industry, research partners and public agencies, the initiative explores new interdisciplinary opportunities in research and development, curriculum design and workforce preparation.
Over the next decade, The Beach is expected to produce about 15,000 degreed or certified engineers and technical professionals. This initiative is a pathway to transformation for CSULB and industry alike, as together we pair skills with demand, talent with possibility and challenge with realization.
