Qwaltec

grown here.”

She cited the ASU Earth and Space Exploration program, the University of Arizona Osiris Rex asteroid mission, and major companies such as Raytheon in Tucson.

The company initially used industry contacts to find clients, including Lockheed Martin, which previously had a large operation in Goodyear. Even though the company has left the market, it remains a customer of Qwaltec.

In 2006, Qwaltec opened a Maryland office to support work with Goddard Space Flight Center, Linam said. That office has 10 employees today, mostly focused on satellite operations for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The company has about 65 workers total in various locations, though most are in Tempe, where the company serves contracts for Orbital ATK and General Dynamics.

Linam said that even if the aerospace industry experiences a downturn, the satellite programs appear to be a stable business.

“We obviously are impacted by downturns and the sequestration that happened, and the shuttle program ending and reductions in government funding to some space-based programs,” she said. “But on the flipside of that, there is so much more commercial opportunity that is growing.”

One of the company’s customers is One Web, a Virginia satellite maker with plans to launch nearly 650 satellites, significantly more than the highly touted Iridium project.

“You also see Google and Facebook and SpaceX and Virgin Galactic all getting into the satellite realm as well,” she said.

With her roots in NASA programs, Linam said she hopes one day Qwaltec can work on manned space flights.

“I don’t know how much financial opportunity there is for us with commercial space tourism, but I hope to provide training and preparations for commercial space tourism as well,” she said.

“Putting people in space is a passion of ours.”