Space Week in New Mexico

Release courtesy of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium

New Mexico Space Grant Consortium will host the fifth annual FREE ISPCS Public Forum (previously named the Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum) on Tuesday, October 19^th, 1:30-3:00 at the Pan American Center on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.   Discover how the future of commercial spaceflight will impact our community.  The mayor of Titusville Florida will present on what happened when NASA came to town.  Local mayors will discuss what preparations they are making as Spaceport America becomes operational. Speakers include:

• John Hummer, moderator, CCIM, Owner/Broker, Steinborn TCN Commercial Real Estate
• Mayor Tulley from Titusville Florida
• Las Cruces Mayor Miyagishima
• Truth or Consequences Mayor Montgomery
• Hatch Mayor Nordyke

You are welcome to also attend the public forum 12:00 – 1:15 focused for university students and faculty.  Speakers include:

• Pat Hynes, New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Director
• Clay Anderson, NASA Astronaut, STS-117, STS-131, ISS
• George Whitesides, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Galactic
• Aaron Prescott, Commercial Division Director, Spaceport America
• Mark Severance, International Space Station Laboratory, Education Projects Manager
• Doug Weathers, NMSU student, Student Launch Program
• Ivan Ferrell, NMSU student, Microgravity Program
• Selene Virk, NMSU student, Transcriptomic Profile of the Inner Ear Vestibular Organs

Come join us as we discuss preparing for this exciting industry in southern New Mexico!

On Wednesday and Thursday, October 20-21 the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight will be held at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.  For more information or to register for the symposium go to http://www.ispcs.com

To recap lead generation activity over the past month, MVEDA generated fifteen new leads compared with ten the last month, thereby showing a very healthy pipeline of projects and interest.   Although alternative energy companies continue to make up over 1/3 of all our leads in the past two months, the overall percentage has dropped slightly and we have seen an increase in the percentage of lead generation within the aerospace and food processing sectors.  We currently have 25 new leads in the pipeline for this fiscal year totaling 2,512 potential jobs and over 1 million square feet of potential real estate needs.

As announced last week, Frontier Airlines stated that they would be closing their Las Cruces reservation center towards the end of this year.  MVEDA has already begun to market the facility as a plug-n-play call center to the site selector community and have currently received two inquiries.

In September, MVEDA attended the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) conference in Minneapolis.  This is the premier event for site consultants.  MVEDA co-hosted a site consultant dinner put on by the New Mexico Partnership which received strong attendance.

For the month of October, MVEDA has a very busy marketing and travel schedule consisting of:

• Oct. 12-16: Prospect mission to Washington D.C. to meet primarily with defense related firms and site consultants
• Oct. 20-22: Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum and ISPCS
• Oct. 26-29: Prospect mission in Los Angeles and attendance at the Solar Power International Show.

Finally, I am happy to say that on September 22, 2009, the County Commission voted unanimously on the passage of the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) in Dona Ana County.

“Space Week in Southern New Mexico” is held each year in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, organized by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium.

This year’s events begin with the PSL Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum, on Tuesday, October 20^th beginning at 9:00 a.m. The theme for this year’s event is “Building a Spaceport Community” and will focus on the roles that various private and public sector organizations will have in building a spaceport community. The event will be held at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum and is free and open to the public.

As a prelude to this year’s symposium, a workshop and tour of the NASA White Sands Test Facility is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20th.  It will include a panel of experts who will speak to assets in the local community that are capable of supporting the commercial space industry.

The ISPC S symposium begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21^st and continues through Thursday, October 22^nd.  Topics to be covered include:

• Flight Safety: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Innovation
• Space Operations: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Innovation
• Personal Spaceflight – What to Expect
• Survey Results on Commercial Human Spaceflight
• Augustine Committee Review of Manned Space Flight at NASA
• University Aerospace Research Programs as Enablers of Growth of Commercial Space
• The Suborbital Future Beyond Tourism: The Research and Education Market
• Small Satellites for Orbital and Sub-Orbital Applications
• Launch Vehicle Options for Future Operators in the Sub-Orbital Environment
• Unique Capabilities in New Mexico for RLV and Payload Processing
• Spaceports Investments to Enable Commercial Spaceflight

All ISPCS sessions are plenary, allowing everyone to receive the same information simultaneously. Responding to feedback, ISPCS has created multiple means of engaging the audience in discussions with speakers during the sessions. Additional networking opportunities are scheduled throughout the two days.

To conclude the week’s activities, there will be a tour of Spaceport America led by Steve Landeene and Dr. Jerry Brown on Friday, October 23^rd.  The tour will include the construction site (World HQ for Virgin Galactic); the runway and terminal hanger; the existing site- mission control; and launch pad.

Registration is required for the tours and the symposium. Early bird registration closes October 1^st and on-line registration closes October 16^th.

This year’s forum will focus on the roles that various private and public sector organizations will have in building a spaceport community.

• The role of Government will include speakers from local, state and federal governmental offices.
• The role of Business will include speakers from Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, economic development agencies, the banking community and the construction industry.
• The role of Education will include speakers from New Mexico State University, Dona Ana Community College, and Southern New Mexico public school systems.

Following the panel presentations, Steve Landeene, Executive Director of Spaceport America, will provide an update on Spaceport America.  There will be time allotted for the public to network with the panelists prior to adjournment. The complete agenda, including panelists, is available on the Sugerman Forum website.

The event is hosted by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium and sponsored by New Mexico State University, the Physical Science Laboratory and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.  The forum is held each year in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight.

Steve Landeene, Executive Director of Spaceport America, provided the audience an update on the progress of Spaceport America. His presentation included videos (click the links to view) of the May 2^nd New Mexico Education Launch and the June 19^th Spaceport America ground breaking event.  Videos are also available on YouTube.

Wayne Savage, Chair of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Space Committee provided an overview of the committee’s activities in the community to help develop and publicize business opportunities related to the Spaceport. He announced that the next public forum would be held on October 20, 2009 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The event, The Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum, is part of the 2009 International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS).

Following the presentations, questions from the audience were answered by representatives from Spaceport America, the Las Cruces Public Schools, MVEDA, and elected officials, including State Representative Andy Nunez, County Commissioner Scott Krahling, and City Councilor Dolores Connor. The event was taped and is being aired on the City of Las Cruces’ CLC-TV cable channel 20 for those that are unable to attend.