Virgin Galactic’s move to Spaceport America creates opportunities for Borderland
Virgin Galactic announced Friday it is officially moving its headquarters from Mojave, California to Spaceport America in southern New Mexico.
Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin Galactic, announced the move in a joint news conference with the State of New Mexico in Sante Fe, saying the move has started and will continue through the summer.
Virgin Galactic is one of the first companies about to provide commercial sub-orbital space flights. It’s arrival offers great opportunities for the Borderland.
“Space in general is a tremendous opportunity because space is all about the future,” Danny Olivas, a former Astronaut and a UTEP special adviser, said.
He’s working with UTEP to prepare students for the future, training scientists, engineers and other disciplines to make an impact in the space industry, something he is already seeing.
“[We have UTEP grads at] Nasa, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic, Bigelow, all the major space players and also the new space players.”
Olivas said El Paso has a great history with the space industry, saying he used to fly into El Paso to train for his space missions at White Sands Missile Range. He said El Paso has a space past and now he’s hopeful for a space future.
“There’s going to be a greater opportunity for El Paso to showcase what it can do,” Olivas said. “We’ve been doing it in the past and I think we’re well positioned for the future.”
