Outer space could be NM’s newest economic frontier
N.M. leaders have been talking about diversifying the economy for years, pushing green-energy initiatives, tourism, professional sports and larger and larger subsidies for the film industry. However, the most far-reaching opportunity may have been looming overhead all along — outer space.
Spaceport America
The concept of embracing outer space for economic development is nothing new in New Mexico. Supporters of Spaceport America — the world’s first purpose-built Spaceport that opened in October 2011 — like to say the first mile up is free, given its altitude above sea level. But for years, progress at the Spaceport was stalled as its anchor tenant, Virgin Galactic, experienced setbacks including a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight nearly six years ago that killed the co-pilot and seriously injured the pilot.
But Virgin Galactic renewed excitement about space travel last week when it said it plans to move to powered flights in the fall with its current SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity. The rocket has performed two glide flights at the Spaceport since February.
U.S. Space Force
As Journal writer Kevin Robinson-Avila reported in the Aug. 10 Business Outlook, New Mexico is at the forefront of a renewed space race that is creating lucrative opportunities for the emerging space industry in the state. The U.S. Department of Defense is rapidly standing up its new Space Force, approved in December by President Donald Trump. Trump was roundly ridiculed at the time for the initiative, but few are laughing now as the Space Force takes root.
The DOD is aggressively turning to private industry to provide the 21st-century technology needed, and New Mexico has a long history as a hub for military-related space development. The myriad DOD space entities at Kirtland Air Force Base, plus critical research, development and testing infrastructure provided by the state’s national laboratories and installations like White Sands Missile Range, have positioned New Mexico at the forefront of the new global space race.
As Robinson-Avila reports, the military’s efforts are helping build the state’s industrial base through emerging Air Force and Space Force partnerships with new and existing companies. U.S. Air Force Col. Eric Felt, who heads the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland, calls it “a perfect storm that’s coming together.” The directorate, the technology arm for space-related development for the Space Force, is now working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado and industry partners to build platform technology to collect solar energy in space and beam it to Earth for use anywhere across the globe. The directorate is also working with SolAero Technologies in Albuquerque to lower the costs for making full solar panels and modules.
Also on the drawing board? Private-sector rides for the military to launch and use low-Earth orbit satellites and a new space commodities exchange. And Friday we learned Albuquerque is in the running to be home to the U.S. Space Command and its 1,000 jobs.
Those who lament New Mexico being at the bottom of numerous rankings can now look up, knowing that when it comes to cutting-edge industry and outer space, the sky truly appears to be the limit for our state.