Another DEXIT: Axiom Space redomiciles in Texas

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Another company has redomiciled in Texas, again leaving Delaware, continuing a trend known as DEXIT, or “DEXIT to Texas.”

After operating in Texas for 10 years, Axiom Space has redomiciled its legal headquarters in Texas.

A leader in commercial human space exploration, Axiom Space says the move aligns its legal home with its operational headquarters in Houston, where it has been operating since 2016.

“Texas has demonstrated, consistently and deliberately, that it wants innovative companies to thrive here and has built the policy and regulatory framework accordingly,” Axiom Space CEO and president Dr. Jonathan Cirtain said in a statement. “For Axiom Space, establishing Texas as both our operational and legal home puts us squarely in a state that understands our mission, supports our industry, and shares in what we are working to achieve.”

Axiom Space and Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement after Abbott and Cirtain met on Monday.

“Texas has been the launchpad of spaceflight since its inception,” Abbott said in a statement. “We welcome Axiom Space’s decision to make Texas its legal residence and look forward to the progress they will achieve in our state. Those who reach for the stars do so from the great state of Texas.”

“Texas is actively transforming into the nerve center of the new space economy,” Axiom Space said. “The state has made bold financial and infrastructural commitments, building a business environment designed to turn ambition into reality.” It also adds that the company “is a growing contributor to the state’s economy and workforce, employing approximately 700 people, the majority of whom are in Texas.”

“The company’s Houston footprint reflects its mission at every level,” it says. This includes its Assembly Integration and Test Facility, built at the Houston Spaceport, a federally licensed commercial spaceport at Ellington Airport. This is where Axiom Station modules will complete final assembly and integration before ascending to orbit. Its footprint also includes its Space Station Development Facility and its spacesuit lab also in the Houston area.

Axiom Space credits it’s redomicile to Abbott’s and the state legislature’s commitment to advancing Texas space policy, state regulatory policies and business friendly environment.

In 2023, the state legislature established the Space Exploration & Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) appropriating $150 million toward grants to facilitate research, infrastructure, and technology development. It also allocated $200 million to the Texas A&M Space Institute, a multi-tenant facility designed to advance lunar and Mars systems. In 2025, another $300 million in grants was approved.

The legislature also established the Texas Space Commission to oversee SEARF, which Axiom Space says created “a powerful gravitational pull for companies committed to long-term growth in space and to delivering the benefits of that growth back to Earth.”

Axiom Space was awarded a $5.5 million SEARF grant to “advance its orbital computing capabilities, expanding Axiom Space’s role from hardware builder to comprehensive space infrastructure provider and bringing the processing power of orbit to bear on problems that matter on the ground.”

Axiom Space has launched four private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS), flown 14 astronauts representing 11 countries and conducted more than 160 experiments and dozens of on-orbit outreach events, it says. Axiom Station, the commercial successor to the ISS, will provide a permanent platform where more countries can participate, conduct research, test technologies, and develop capabilities leveraging the microgravity environment, it says.

In response to the latest DEXIT announcement, Texans for Lawsuit Reform CEO Ryan Patrick told The Center Square, “Today, we’re celebrating the fact that if you want to get to space, you’ll have to go through Texas. Axiom Space has already recognized the Lone Star State for its strong business environment and its ability to thrive in this fast-growing, high-wage industry. By reincorporating to align with its base of operations in Houston, Axiom Space can now focus on innovation and expansion.

“What’s also clear is that the status quo is being dismantled in real time by the companies that want to grow jobs and expand prosperity for their employees and shareholders. Delaware, you’ve got a problem.”

Texas is home to more than 150,000 aerospace workers. NASA’s Johnson Space Center located roughly 30 miles south of Houston generates more than $9.8 billion in annual economic output.