Posts Tagged ‘New Mexico State University’
New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Named FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation
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.
West Mesa Park Teems with New Development
Article courtesy to the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Gabriel Vasquez
Not many people know about the West Mesa Industrial Park, a 1,820-acre development located on Interstate 10, eight miles west of Las Cruces. It is home to several companies specializing in light and general manufacturing, and more are coming.
Most recently, Alaska Structures (AKS), a company in Las Cruces for more than 10 years, has expanded from its South Main Street facility into the 180,000-square-foot West Mesa building previously occupied by Rea Magnet Wire.
“I can confirm they are now occupying the old Rea building, and have taken over part of the Parkview site as well,” said Davin Lopez, president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance.
The Parkview Metals site, vacant since 2007, stands at 100,000 square feet. AKS leased all but the office space in the building as it continues to consolidate its El Paso operations into Las Cruces.
“(AKS) will need more employees, but I do not know if they are hiring right now,” said Christine Logan, administrator for the city’s Economic Development Department. AKS designs, engineers and manufactures fabric-building systems for extreme environments for both military and commercial use. It recently was awarded a large contract that called for the expansion. Expected employment for the Rea site is 75 to90 employees, city officials said, with a possible expansion of up to 170 employees once the Parkview site is fully operational.
“It’s safe to say, that any local company that expands at this rate can only be a great opportunity for us,” Lopez said.
Although industrial buildings are still available for lease, space on the West Mesa is becoming more of a hot commodity.
“Don Billings has a 6,000-square-foot spec building available on Trigg Loop and NAI 1st Valley is marketing a 23,000-squarefoot facility on Crawford Boulevard,” Logan said. “Although there are not many buildings available, there are several development ready land parcels available through private land owners and the city.”
Current West Mesa tenants include Samson Equipment, which continues to do well and is looking to acquire additional land for expansion. F&A Dairy Products has completed a significant expansion and has recently upped its employment number to 93.
The Sapphire Energy research and development site continues to grow and now employs 24 full-time and has added several interns from New Mexico State University.
Onion producers Barker Produce have a new facility under construction on the West Mesa and Premier Distributing opened a facility there in February and employs 63 people in the park.
For more information on the West Mesa Industrial Park, a city-owned light manufacturing and industry development, call (575) 541-2286.
Domenici Public Policy Conference Features Nationally Known Speakers
The 2010 Domenici Public Policy Conference will be held September 1st and 2nd on 
the campus of New Mexico State University. The annual conference brings together a host of public policy makers to discuss the issues facing America. The topics for this year’s conference include financial reform, national security and analysis of the 2010 election.
Speakers at this year’s conference include:
- Karl Rove, Fox News Contributor
- Joe Lockhart, Political Analyst and Commentator
- Sam Donaldson, ABC News Contributor
- Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator
- Sam Nunn, Former U.S. Senator
- Thomas O. Hunter, Sandia National Laboratories Retired President and Director
Registration fee for the two-day conference is $50. Attendees are encouraged to register early and may register online by following this link.
CNNMoney.com Ranks Dona Ana County among Top 25 for Job Growth
In a recent online article, CNNMoney.com ranked Dona Ana County number 14 out of 25 counties that have experienced the most job growth over the last nine years. The article reports that between 2000 and 2009, Dona Ana County’s job growth was 34.5%.
The article mentions Foxconn, Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, and New Mexico State University. The article and the other counties mentioned are available online by clicking the CNNMoney.com link above.
NMSU Wins $1.5 Million for Further Improvements to Arrowhead Drive, Research Park
Release courtesy of NMSU News Center
July 26, 2010
NMSU photo by Harrison Brooks
WRITER: Justin Bannister, 575-646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Vickie Galindo, 575-646-5265, vigalind@nmsu.edu
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center a $1.5 million grant for infrastructure improvements to the Arrowhead Business and Research Park and to expand the newly created Arrowhead Drive.
The Arrowhead Business and Research Park covers 224 acres at the southern end of NMSU’s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. Its goal is to link scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs in developing emerging technologies that contribute to the state’s economic development.
“This funding will help the park continue its expansion and aid us in attracting companies seeking to work with NMSU faculty members and students,” said Pam Wood, research park director.
The university completed a mile-long extension of Payne Street through the research park earlier this year. This new grant will allow the university to expand that section of road, now named Arrowhead Drive, from two lanes to four. The grant will also allow NMSU to finish the park’s wastewater system, to install street lighting and to conduct an engineering study to help better plan for the next stages of development.
The Arrowhead Center won a similar, $900,000 grant from the EDA to help pay for construction on the first part of Arrowhead Drive and its accompanying utilities. Other money for that project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.
“These investments by the Economic Development Administration and other partners are not only making the park more accessible and attractive to new businesses, they’re also helping lay the groundwork for a lot of exciting developments yet to come,” said Vickie Galindo, Arrowhead’s director of business development.
The Arrowhead Business and Research Park’s most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer. The park’s next building will be more than 8,000 square feet and broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces. That building is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in the coming weeks.
Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.
