Kelly Page, President, Barrios Technology

In an interview with Invest:, Kelly Page, president and CEO of aerospace business Barrios Technology, discussed NASA’s shifting priorities, Houston’s emergence as a commercial space hub, and the workforce needed to support the next era of aerospace growth. “The most exciting part about Houston is that we have all of these adjacent industries that can help each other, and then grow as a city,” Page said.

What have been the most important changes in your business environment over the past year, and how are they shaping your strategy today?

One of the biggest changes has been the evolving direction at NASA, which is our largest customer. With new leadership in place, there is more clarity around where NASA wants to go. There is a shift toward a continued presence on the lunar surface, with the lunar environment serving as a stepping stone for Mars.

Equally important is the growing interest in doing business in space. We are seeing companies that are not traditional aerospace companies wanting to play a role in the lunar environment and in low Earth orbit. Companies are asking how they can take their business to the next step, and we are starting to see real investment dollars and movement behind that. We have talked about it for a long time, but now we are seeing it come to fruition.

How are you seeing demand evolve between NASA programs and commercial space?

From a government contractor perspective, NASA is looking at what it calls “insourcing” some of the support it receives. As a contractor, that puts some of our work at risk because we are losing individuals who are becoming civil servants as NASA brings certain roles in-house. That changes our business structure and potentially the services we offer because we often leverage skills developed through NASA work and apply them to the commercial market.

At the same time, commercial market demand is increasing, and NASA’s demand remains strong, even with budget fluctuations. We are partnered with Intuitive Machines on the lunar terrain vehicle, which is expected to be awarded at the end of May. Getting onto the moon is going to be a major step for the commercial market.

In low Earth orbit, companies are beginning to build out what their business plans will look like and conduct test runs. Many of these companies need engineering support and people who understand how to operate in space. That is where we are seeing a lot of opportunity.

Where do you see the most concrete opportunities as NASA shifts priorities and the ISS moves toward retirement?

We still consider ourselves one of NASA’s partners and one of its largest partners in the Houston area. A lot of the lunar work appears likely to come to Houston, and we see an opportunity to grow in that area. We also see potential to shift teams that have worked in low Earth orbit toward commercial low Earth orbit while continuing to build the team already doing lunar work.

We are also heavily focused on changing how we deliver services so that we operate with a more commercial model. Instead of acting like a staffing agency that provides engineers, we are focused on productizing services and delivering them to customers at different stages of their project life cycles.

A lot of our future opportunities will likely come from the commercial market over the next few years, while we continue to keep a strong eye on the lunar opportunity with NASA.

How is Houston evolving as a hub for space activity?

At the state level, Texas has put significant money and attention into space to ensure it is the premier state for space capability. That includes launch services, integration services, mission control, and space manufacturing.

Houston is well situated because of Johnson Space Center, the Texas A&M Space Institute, and the Houston Spaceport. The Spaceport brings together like-minded companies and is building a campus focused on cutting-edge ways of doing business in space.

When we speak with international partners and other companies, people are trying to figure out how to get here and leverage the network. It is not just about the infrastructure and facilities. There is a network and a wealth of knowledge embedded in Houston, especially in the Clear Lake area, that companies want to be part of.

Many companies in the energy or oil and gas sectors have already figured out complex manufacturing and supplier challenges. Space can learn from them and potentially use those resources to grow. The most exciting part about Houston is that we have all of these adjacent industries that can help each other, and then grow as a city.

How are client expectations changing in terms of speed, integration, and technical capabilities?

People look at Houston as an epicenter of innovation. When companies come here to do business in space, or to figure out how to do business in space, they expect cutting-edge capabilities and want to see what the next step looks like.

The only way to meet those expectations is by using all the resources and industry partners we have. Energy, oil and gas, aerospace, and the medical field all play a role. The glue that holds it together is the education system, including universities and community colleges in the Houston area.

Those institutions support industry needs, but workforce is going to be the biggest challenge. Having the people to do all of this will be critical.

What is your view of the workforce in Houston, and how are you preparing for future hiring needs?

In aerospace, we have a lot of excitement and interest from new graduates entering the field. We also have a retiring age group with deep aerospace experience and significant corporate knowledge leaving over the next few years.

Where we are short is in mid-career talent. Companies want people who have enough experience to know how to do the work, but who are still willing to do it in a different way. That is the segment where we are struggling.

We need to do the work now in how we hire, how we build the workforce, and how we create training systems so that we do not face the same challenge again in the future. Universities and community colleges are building aerospace and human spaceflight programs that prepare people to enter the workforce.

We are also seeing pre-K through 12 systems begin to introduce aerospace curriculum in junior high and high school. Another important area is technicians. Commercial aerospace is moving into a heavier manufacturing phase, and with increased NASA and commercial flight cadence, we will need more technicians and hands-on workers.

What key indicators are you watching as you plan for the next three to five years?

NASA remains a major customer even in the commercial arena. NASA has laid out an important vision through Ignition, and that helps us understand where government dollars may be spent.

We are also working with companies that want to do business in space, whether they are proving technology, building something in space, or manufacturing something in space for Earth applications. We are trying to understand what that market looks like and where the commercial world is going.

Some people doubt the commercial environment, but when you talk to companies that are not in the space arena today and want to be, there is a line of people ready to go.

The international market is another key indicator. Many international companies want to do business in space and want to partner with U.S. companies, specifically with eyes on Houston because of the capabilities here and the ease of access for international companies.