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There is excitement in Albuquerque – we are one of only six finalists for the permanent location of Space Command headquarters.
This delights me, not just as a New Mexican, but also as an engineer and researcher. I know firsthand that trailblazing research is the foundation to creating knowledge to solve our greatest challenges and to advance our economy.
Putting that power in the hands and minds of the next generation of leaders, students at our state’s research universities, creates the environment where critical operations such as Space Command will thrive.
The value of strong public research universities is undeniable – the health, economic success and security of our nation are reliant on them.
UNM’s Physics & Astronomy Interdisciplinary Science Facility
Albuquerque has some very important visitors today. And although the visit by representatives of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force is unfortunately limited to a virtual tour due to the pandemic, the visit has the potential of changing the landscape of the Duke City and New Mexico for the better for a hundred years or more.
Albuquerque is on the short list of six cities being considered to permanently host the new headquarters for U.S. Space Command. And the stakes are high.
The new Space Command is expected to bring more than a thousand civilian and military jobs to the selected city, with potentially billions of dollars of economic activity for the region and untold private-sector contracts. Space Command is now temporarily at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. In addition to Peterson AFB and our own Kirtland Air Force Base, the other contenders are Air Force bases in Florida, Nebraska, Alabama and Texas. A
Space Command HQ: Pentagon to hear New Mexico’s pitch today
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
Posted Dec 21, 2020
Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman (R), Space Force and Command Senior Enlisted Leader and CMSgt Roger Towberman (L), with Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, present US President Donald Trump with the official flag of the United States Space Force in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on May 15, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)Samuel Corum/Pool | Getty Images
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By Kevin Robinson-Avila Albuquerque Journal, N.M. (TNS) and Tribune Media Services
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will lead a brigade of local officials and area experts today, Monday, in a virtual battle to persuade the Pentagon to locate the new U.S. Space Command in Albuquerque.