NewSpace, the next private space industry conference, will land in Seattle in 2016 and OneRedmond will be a major sponsor “as a part of our strategy to brand Redmond as a center of the space industry,” according to CEO Bart Phillips’ Friday memo on July 24.

The new Washington Space Coalition will host this annual conference organized by the Space Frontier Foundation. The event gathers space startups, established companies and government agencies with investors and tech innovators. The Washington Space Coalition and Alex Pietsch, director of Aerospace for Washington, helped bring the conference to Seattle.

“From the early days of the space age, companies like Boeing and Rocket Research have played an important role in the development of space vehicles and systems here in Washington state,” said Gov. Jay Inslee in a press release. “Rocket Research, now Aerojet Rocketdyne, along with innovative companies like Blue Origin, Planetary Resources, SpaceFlight Industries and dozens of others are benefitting from Washington’s unique blend of aerospace know-how and computer science brain power to catalyze an exciting cluster of space industry innovation in the state.”

Aerojet Rocketdyne and Planetery Resources are located in Redmond.

The aerospace industry as a whole supported $85.7 billion in economic activity in Washington state in 2014. Its more than 1,350 aerospace and related companies support a workforce of 132,500 and paid wages totaling $13.2 billion. In January, SpaceX announced the opening of a new office in Redmond, where it will develop satellites and may one day employ as many as a thousand people.

OneRedmond is a partnership of leading private sector companies and the City of Redmond. Its mandate is to promote the economic prosperity and growth of Redmond and the regional economy.