SEATTLE — Blue Origin's fully autonomous capsule has flown six flights and sent 31 people to space.
"The impacts of seeing the earth below you and space around you is so commonly profound to astronauts who've experienced this that it has its own name, the Overview Effect," said Barret Schlegelmilth with Blue Origin. He trains passengers who they call astronauts to go into space.
"It's amazing, I wake up every day and drive into work where we're making literal rockets and rocket engines right here. It's pretty exciting," said Schlegelmilth.
What's arguably most intriguing about the New Shepard is that it's reusable.
"We're entering a new age in the space industry where we're bringing down the cost of launch with operational and reusable vehicles," said Schlegelmilth.
Many local businesses in Washington are ahead of the new age of reusable rockets.
"It's the last big domino to fall to unlock the space economy and push our industry into the future," said Andy Lapsa who is the CEO of Stoke Space, the company makes fully reusable capsules and engines.
"There are 13,000 space jobs and so my guess is there's hardly anybody that is in the space business that doesn't have some dealings with NASA," said Washington Senator Maria Cantwell.
NASA's Artemis III mission is taking off next year and will bring a four-person crew to the moon for the first time in 50 years. The Artemis program has 42 Washington suppliers.
"NASA doesn't do it by itself, it does it with our partners and that's what you're seeing some evidence of here today," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Cantwell and Nelson are proposing a manufacturing institute in Washington to encourage research and development.
"Today's jobs and tomorrow's future jobs are going to depend on the manufacturing center assembled here today," said Cantwell.
The institute would expand on the aerospace presence the state already has.
"It is really inspiring to see a literal space vehicle and rocket being built right here across the street," said Schlegelmilth.
According to NASA, Washington's space industry has an annual economic impact of $4.6 billion dollars. NASA made it clear that its partnership with commercial businesses is essential to getting people to the moon and Mars.