The Rust Belt Economic Review

The rustbelt for a century has been a hub for manufacturing and industry. From the automobile factories of Detroit to the docks of Illinois and Wisconsin. The rust belt additionally played a key role in the space race of the 20th century by helping to build essential components for missions like Apollo 11 and by producing now famed astronauts like Neil Armstrong. As space exploration ramps up however in the 2020’s and with private corporations like Blue Origin and SpaceX now playing vital roles the question becomes, what role will the rust belt play in modern day space ventures? 

First, within recent years the rust belt has been gaining significant space related investment. Since 2022 alone an estimated $30 billion dollars has been allocated to rust belt states for the manufacturing, operation and maintenance of space applications. One such beneficiary of this capital has been the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association which recently received capital from a private group of investors to conduct research and development on satellite telecommunications. This R&D is expected to both create jobs within Michigan and to improve the efficiency of communications correlating to a spillover effect of greater connectedness. 

The rust belt is a unique location for this investment to take place additionally. Due to its location between eastern seaboard hubs including New York and Philadelphia and the rocky mountains which are heavily resourced by the U.S. military including the U.S. space force and Air Force the rust belt makes an optimal location for resources and personnel to be transported to and for manufacturing to take place. The rust belts economic condition of furthermore having a large population of workers in the manufacturing and industrial sectors provide an adequate workforce for the exercising of capital. 

With the Trump administration seeking to allocate more of its military agenda to the area of space the rust belt will inevitably be a key region in the discussions of where to award contracts and begin research and development. This is due to the rust belt states being home to already established and running centers like NASA’s Glenn center in Cleveland, Boeing's manufacturing plant in Licking county Ohio and General Electric's Evendale plant near Cincinnati which the company has already invested an additional $650 million into within the past three years to support already existing supply chains and to increase capabilities for their defense sector partners including the U.S. Air Force. 

From this, investments in the region are likely to follow as more contracts from the federal government are awarded in 2027 and 2028 under an increasingly friendly defense sector Trump administration. The question that arises from this however and from the rustbelts sure place in space manufacturing is which areas of the rust belt will the Trump administration deem worthy of federal dollars? In an age of polarization the administration might seek to block allocations that would benefit certain states or they may perhaps allocate contracts to states vital in federal elections, only time will tell. 

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For Further Reference: 

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About. (2022, August 25). Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association. https://www.michman.org/about/

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GE Aerospace to Invest Over $650M in Manufacturing Facilities, Supply Chain in 2024 | GE Aerospace News. (2024, March 12). Geaerospace.com. 

https://www.geaerospace.com/news/press-releases/ge-aerospace-invest-over-650m-manufacturing-facilities-supply-chain-2024