The making of a star: New Mexico's place in the space race

Yahoo

12-05-2025

May 11—New Mexico hopes to become, if not already, a major player in the current space race. But are people and companies around the U.S. — and even the world — aware of that?
The answer varies depending on who you talk to. For Casey Anglada DeRaad, it's a no-brainer: New Mexico is a space epicenter.
"We've been building this infrastructure. We've been building the workforce. We've been building the companies," DeRaad said, looking around at an 8,000-square-foot facility called the Launchpad, a shared workspace that her nonprofit, NewSpace Nexus, offers to space-oriented companies.
When Americans think of space, NASA's Space Center in Houston, or their launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, might more readily come to mind. But New Mexico has been steadily building a "space valley" that for many big projects is the epicenter of the space race. From obvious hardware like the Very Large Array, one of the world's largest radio telescopes outside of Socorro and Spaceport America, to cutting-edge technologies being developed at the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, and the Air Force Research Lab, New Mexico is home to a burgeoning space industry.
DeRaad is urging New Mexico space companies to more quickly advance their technologies, so the U.S. — with the aid of New Mexico — can lead the space race it's in with major players China and Russia. Dubbed the new space race, the three countries are vying for more than just the chance to step foot on the moon — it's about setting the stage for policies and allocating resources now.
DeRaad founded NewSpace Nexus in 2019 as a way to connect small- and medium-sized space companies with resources and financing needed to accelerate the nation's space industry. Now also acting as CEO of NewSpace, she's doing it all just a short drive away from the heart of Downtown Albuquerque.
Matthew Fetrow, a spokesperson for Kirtland Air Force Base's Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said it's amazing to see nonprofits helping tell New Mexico's space story.
"There's so much great stuff happening in New Mexico that maybe New Mexicans don't even know about, certainly that the rest of the country is not aware of," Fetrow said.
He said getting the word out about the space industry in the Land of Enchantment comes down to branding. It's better now than it has been in years past, he acknowledged, but other markets — like California, Colorado and Alabama — have spent a lot of time, money and effort on distinguishing themselves as space leaders.
People need to keep the space industry accessible in New Mexico, he said, and communicate that it's not limited to work done by the national laboratories or military bases.
"There's a lot of folks involved in space, whether it's defense space, like I work on, or it's research or it's dark skies, whether it's artistry, whether it's storytelling," he said.
Randy Trask, founder and executive director of Q Station, a collaborative nonprofit that brings together private and public sector technology experts, shared a similar sentiment. On a panel at a two-day innovation conference in Santa Fe last week, he pointed to Houston being known as the space city.
"They made the strategy, and they're going after it. We have to do the same in New Mexico," Trask said. "We have to all work this strategy."
Why New Mexico?
DeRaad worked for NASA and the U.S. Air Force before founding NewSpace Nexus. From the national laboratories to the Space Force organizations to the Air Force Research Laboratory, she said New Mexico is poised to lead in the ongoing space race.
"We already led in the first space race," she added. The state's federal bases were involved in early rocket and astronaut testing around the Cold War.
New Mexico's unique mix of "geographic, institutional and operational assets" lends well to the space industry, according to Jessie Perkins, spokesperson for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy and Space Vehicles Directorate.
She said the state's clear atmospheric conditions allow for optical testing, using the White Sands Missile Range as an example.
She added that programs like the Hyperspace Challenge, which is based out of Q Station, allow local firms to adopt new technology. Data science company RS21, with no previous space experience, adapted its health care algorithms into a diagnostic spacecraft tool, Perkins said.
But as other countries seek to gain ground in the space race, DeRaad thinks the U.S. needs to advance even faster.
Fetrow said the U.S. is still ahead of other countries, but places like China and Russia are closing in.
"I think there's a sense that we need to make sure the U.S. is continuing to invest and bring our A game to maintain where we want to be in space," he said.
That's where DeRaad said her organization comes in.
NewSpace's Launchpad has two distinct offerings for companies, called "ignite and unite," said Arial DeHerrera, vice president of programming for NewSpace.
On one side of the facility, chairs are gathered around tables and in front of monitors for the "unite" side of things, a networking-type space, DeHerrera said. Equipment litters the other side of the space, like a thermal vacuum and 3D printers. DeHerrera said that's the "ignite" space, "which is the idea of connection to resources, helping companies accelerate their pace."
"We have become this nexus," she said, adding that 38 companies are working out of the Launchpad.
One such company is Solstar Space. CEO and Founder Brian Barnett was working at the Launchpad on Wednesday afternoon, tinkering with a deep-space communicator that provides internet connections on spacecrafts.
"This is a great facility for us," Barnett said.
He held up a small black box, which he said is the commercial product following three launches so far to space. He added that SpaceX will fly with the product early next year.
NewSpace also recently secured financing from the New Mexico Finance Authority for a new facility, the Space Center. DeRaad said the center will offer resources like equipment, spaces companies can lease and a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility — a government-accredited facility where people can discuss and work on highly classified information.
All this work, from the individual projects to shared facility spaces, contributes to the effort to ensure New Mexico's place as a leader in global space advancements, DeRaad said.
"We have to move, and New Mexico, with all that we have here, if we move, we're going to be the star," she said.
Megan Gleason is an assistant business editor for the Albuquerque Journal. She also covers energy, utilities and government. You can reach her at [e-mail].