Archive for the ‘Space Industry News’ Category

Release courtesy of Spaceport America

Las Cruces, NM – Spaceport America and the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) congratulate Dr. Pat Hynes and the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium at New Mexico State University (NMSU) for being selected as the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation (COE-CST). Winning the nationwide competition to host the COE-CST now enables NMSU to serve as the hub of a minimum $5 million, five-year research coalition addressing key challenges in the development of the commercial space industry.

“It’s a great day not only for education in the state of New Mexico, but also for the emerging commercial space industry and the role that Spaceport America will have in its continuing growth,” said Spaceport America Executive Director Rick Homans. “This COE-CST reaffirms and cements New Mexico’s leadership in the vanguard of commercial space.” Homans said the Center would likely facilitate development of launch vehicle systems, technologies and operations research for Spaceport America. “We commend Dr. Pat Hynes and her team, and are excited to work with her innovative consortium from New Mexico, Florida, Texas, Colorado and California, as well as companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and other members of the NMSU COE-CST industry advisory board.”

In addition, NMSA Chairman of the Board Ben Woods said, “Today’s announcement means the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium at NMSU will be at the center of development for industry enabling technologies such as space launch operations and traffic management, space commerce and commercial human spaceflight for launch facilities like Spaceport America here in New Mexico.”

More information on the COE-CST announcement can be found on the FAA website: http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=11737.

Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. The spaceport is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport and is now undergoing construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. This state-of-the-art launch facility is expected to become fully operational in 2011. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at the Spaceport is already delivering on its promise to the people of New Mexico.

The Commercial Space Committee of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce will host the next public Community Council Meeting on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at the Las Cruces City Hall Council Chambers, 700 N. Main. The meeting will begin with refreshments from 5:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Spaceport America Executive Director Rick Homans will be the keynote speaker. His presentation will be followed by a panel of local business owners who will discuss the impact of Spaceport America on local business.

The panel will be moderated by Charlie Garcia of Trax International.  Panelists include:

• Rob Richardson of Bohannan Huston;
• Gary Aschbacher of Fast Wave;
• Tony Martin of Fourteen30 Production Group; and
• Kari Mitchell of Las Cruces Machine & Manufacturing.

Reservations are not required and the meeting is open to the public.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

Rick Homans, who starts his second stint as the New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s executive director this week, said the $198 million Spaceport America should be fully operational by mid-2011.

Speaking before the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Thursday, June 24, at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, Homans said a number of new potential tenants are interested in the spaceport.

Homans said new and existing aerospace companies are especially interested in the spaceport’s vertical launch area to develop new launch systems as NASA changes its focus.

The potential for new jobs and economic opportunity is what has always drawn him to the spaceport effort, Homans said.

“I’m absolutely honored to be back on the job,” he said.

But just as the spaceport authority still has many issues to work through to make Spaceport America operational, local businesses need to get ready as well, said Mark Butler, operations program manager for Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America’s anchor tenant.

“A lot of things need to happen,” Butler said of Virgin Galactic safety testing its newly developed spaceliner system. “But let’s say that if we start flying 18 months from now, a lot of supply chain issues need to be worked on now.”

That’s because, Butler emphasized, Virgin Galactic’s primary focus will be flying customers into suborbital space at $200,000 a ticket. With these people paying so much for their trips, Virgin Galactic can’t allow the cancellation of a single flight because of something as minor as a lack of spare parts, fuel or materials – let alone something as miniscule as running out of bolts, he said.

Local businesses need to realize that these new passengers aren’t just going to be coming for a quick flight and leave. It will be at least a two and- a-half-day stay during which the passengers will go through training to prepare them for their spaceflight experience.

That means hotel stays – nice hotels. Butler said he believes one nice hotel near the spaceport won’t be enough.

These customers will want to find fine dining, preferably food made with quality local ingredients. Their visits will require reliable transportation to and from the spaceport in the desert between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences.

There will be a need to provide activities for friends and families of the passengers while they are going through their pre-flight training. Though local businesses should offer experiences for these accompanying families and friends. Butler admitted that a jaunt to Las Vegas, Nev., is not that far of a trip for them and will likely be a draw away from local sites.

There are many needs in the direct supply chain of the Virgin Galactic flight system that should preferably be made readily available locally, Butler said, such as repair materials for the specialized carbon fiber composite materials manufactured by Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites operation in California.

Virgin’s owner, British billionaire Richard Branson, is requiring his network of companies to reduce its carbon footprint and be as ecologically sensitive as possible. Part of the philosophy includes having these kinds of resources close to operations, which requires less shipping, Butler said.

Each flight of the spaceliner will require the replacement of the hybrid rocket engine, fueled by specially shaped rubber particles and nitrous oxide. Having the manufacturing of those fuels locally would provide additional assurance as well as satisfy the company’s ecological desires.

Considering the money at stake, reliability of those suppliers also will be tantamount, he said.

Because Virgin Galactic’s primary mission is making sure the customers experience safe flights, Butler said the company isn’t interested in coming up with all the “trinkets” and mementos passengers will want to take home from their trip. That is another opportunity for local businesses, he said.

Since Virgin Galactic is an international company, all of its American employees will have be U.S. citizens to comply with international trade agreements, he noted.

These are some of the reasons why the chamber has created a working group for the spaceport, said Wayne Savage, who chairs the committee. Butler’s talk gave some insight to kinds of jobs and money the spaceport could bring to the region, he said.

“We haven’t seen this kind of a catalyst for the local economy since the creation of White Sands Missile Range,” Savage said.

Release courtesy of the Governor’s Office

June 15, 2010

Gilbert Gallegos (505) 476-2217

Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Rick Homans will become the permanent Executive

Rick Homans

Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority as of July 1. Homans will step down from his position as Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.

Governor Richardson also announced that he has appointed Duffy Rodriguez to become the new Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department. Rodriguez has 30 years of government experience, most recently serving a dual role as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the NM Department of Health.

“Spaceport America will soon be moving from a major construction project to an operational spaceport, launching humans into sub-orbit, and Rick has the project background, knowledge of the issues, and relationships with the many government and business partners,” Governor Richardson said. “This appointment assures we have the continuity we need to ensure the success of Spaceport America.”

The Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority met today in Truth or Consequences and voted unanimously to hire Homans. He will be based in Las Cruces.

Homans served as the first chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority from 2005 to 2007, and was briefly its executive director in 2007. Homans served as Secretary of Economic Development from 2003 through 2007, and Secretary of Taxation and Revenue from 2008 through the present. Governor Richardson appointed Homans in April to serve as Interim Executive Director and as Chairman of the Board, in addition to his job as Secretary of TRD.

Governor Richardson said Rodriguez’s vast experience in government will allow her to hit the ground running at the Taxation & Revenue Department.

Rodriguez, a graduate of Smith College, has served in state government and worked for or with every Governor since Governor Jerry Apodaca. Her experience includes leading management and performance analyses of state agencies for Governor Garrey Carruthers and serving as the State Budget Director under Governor Gary Johnson. She also worked for the House Appropriations and Finance Committee as well as serving twice as a principal analyst with the bipartisan Legislative Finance Committee. She has a strong finance and budget background, is well versed with the revenue forecasting process and is very familiar with all of the operations of Taxation & Revenue Department from her previous legislative and executive work.

Article courtesy of the New Mexico Amigos

Las Cruces, New Mexico artist, Virginia Maria Romero, was commissioned to provide the gift presented to Virgin Galactic representatives, by the New Mexico Amigos, during the Amigos recent tour of Virgin Galactic’s facility at the Mojave Spaceport in California.  The New Mexico Amigos, made up of civic and business leaders from around the state, serve as official goodwill ambassadors for New Mexico.

An image of Romero’s painting Blast Off which she completed in 2007; depicting a spaceship taking off from the New Mexico desert inspired by the news of a New Mexico Spaceport, along with an authorized photo of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, were used to create a tile mural by her and her Arte de Romero business partner.

A New Mexico Amigo, Governor Bill Richardson, presented Romero’s artwork to representatives of Virgin Galactic during the tour.  For further information contact New Mexico Amigos, Mike Pemberton: mpemberton@nmamigos.com