Final frontier creating tantalizing market for area firms

Whether the mission is helping America return to pre-eminence in manned spaceflight, sending commercial trips to the moon or protecting the planet from a catastrophic collision with an asteroid, companies in the Boulder Valley are keeping the dream alive.

The Boulder-area is home to the offices of a number of important aerospace companies, including industry giants Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman. But the most interesting activity is taking place in companies focused on sending astronauts and satellites into space. Companies in the area especially are active in commercial spaceflight, a potentially fast-growing segment of the market now that NASA has stopped…