Colorado could be the winner of the new space race, if it can capitalize on the leading aerospace companies, research institutions and military assets in the state while weathering sweeping changes in the industry, according to a major industry report released Tuesday.

The report, titled "Launch! Taking Colorado's Space Economy to the Next Level," was produced by the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program with the participation of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and Trade.

The report found Colorado's "space industry" employs more than 66,000 workers in military, civil and private domains and added $8.7 billion in value-added output in 2011. The industry generated 3.8 percent of the state's private-sector gross domestic output, the report said.

The report broadly defines the industry, which includes private companies such as Longmont-based DigitalGlobe Inc. and research centers such as the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado-Boulder. It also includes military bases, such as the U.S. Air Force Space Command headquarters outside Colorado Springs.

The disproportionate place the space industry has in Colorado could be an