The push for ‘Space Valley’ in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Some local organizations are pushing for space to be a much larger frontier in the Land of Enchantment. 

KOB 4 spoke with some folks looking to put the state ahead in the space industry race.

“It’s not just astronauts that we need in space, it’s accountants, it’s coders, it’s cybersecurity experts. It’s even life sciences,” said T.J. Cook, executive director of CNM Ingenuity. 

Cook is just one of many people tied to “Space Valley” – a group that’s still in its infancy in New Mexico.

“The Space Valley coalition is a team of organizations that has come together to rocket forward New Mexico’s commercial space industry,” said Cook. 

NewSpace is another nonprofit in town trying to help be the driving force for all things space in the Land of Enchantment.

“We were established to bring the partners together to really leverage all the many assets we have here in New Mexico, and just be a resource to help unite the space companies,” said Casey Anglada Deraad, CEO of NewSpace. 

But what exactly do all of these organizations want to accomplish as a group?

“The fact that by 2030, 2035, the commercial space industry is going to be anywhere from $2 trillion to $4 trillion in total value,” said Cook. “We have existing assets like Spaceport, like AFRL, like the space for Space Systems Command, our federal labs, we can build off of that to grab a significant chunk of that $3 trillion, and so we want that for New Mexicans.”

And in order to accomplish this, the state needs to start marketing itself that way.

“We’re looking at we need to brand this region as the Space Valley, kind of like Silicon Valley,” said Anglada. 

Space exploration is continuing to grow and local experts are saying it won’t be just for the rich anymore –  affordable space travel is closer than we think.

Coming together as a large space leader and branding this region of the country as Space Valley is a goal for these organizations. Not only to keep up with space innovation, but to help build the base for a new economic push for a major industry in New Mexico. 

“The NewSpace economy is such a big opportunity that we really need to elevate New Mexico’s presence in every way and workforce, and private sector involvement, and acceleration of new companies,” said Cook. 

Those KOB 4 talked to said commercial space exploration will open jobs up for not only the typical rocket scientists and engineers of the world, but accountants and coders – everyone will be needed as we start to explore space from this commercial point of view.