The University of Texas System and NASA’s Johnson Space Center have entered into a Space Act Agreement aimed at enhancing research collaboration, workforce development, and educational engagement in support of space exploration and national security.
“It’s an exciting time for the UT System and NASA to come together in new ways because Texas is at the epicenter of America’s space future. It’s an area where America is dominant, and we are committed as a university system to maintaining and growing that dominance,” said UT System Chancellor John M. Zerwas MD.
“NASA’s Johnson Space Center has a long history of working with colleges and universities to help us achieve our human spaceflight missions,” said Vanessa Wyche, Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “We are eager to partner with the UT System to collaborate in vital research and technology development initiatives that will enable us to meet our nation’s exploration goals and advance the future of space exploration.”
The agreement builds on longstanding cooperation between the University of Texas institutions and NASA. For example, twelve astronauts who graduated from UT Austin have collectively spent over 500 days in space. Programs at UT Medical Branch and UT Health Houston focus on training astronauts in aerospace medicine. At UT El Paso, a Digital Engineering Design Center operates jointly with NASA, while research at UT San Antonio focuses on hypersonic flow, aerodynamics, and atmospheric science.
The new agreement will leverage resources across all 13 institutions within the University of Texas System. These include UT Austin’s Center for Space Research; the Texas Advanced Computing Center, which supports modeling for rocket propulsion; UT San Antonio’s Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institution focused on satellite protection; UTRGV’s STARGATE spaceport lab near the SpaceX South Texas Launch site; as well as other teaching and research assets.
Since 2021, the University of Texas System has also partnered with the U.S. Space Force under a Memorandum of Understanding to provide advanced research opportunities and workforce training.
In addition to federal partnerships, collaboration with state government has grown. In 2023, lawmakers established the Texas Space Commission, which awarded $9.27 million to UT Austin for orbital object tracking research. In 2025, lawmakers created the Texas Cyber Command headquartered at UT San Antonio—the first state agency located outside the capital city.
Texas hosts more than 2,100 aerospace companies—including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and SpaceX—that together support over 165,000 jobs in this sector.
“We’re living through a unique moment where aerospace innovation, national security, economic transformation, and scientific discovery are converging like never before in Texas,” added Zerwas. “UT institutions are uniquely positioned to partner with NASA in building a stronger and safer Texas.”
