Boulder, CO – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today highlighted a national program that brings the public and private sectors together to equip students with the innovative skills they need to compete and lead in the 21st century economy. During his tour of the headquarters of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSGC) at CU-Boulder, Bennet met with professors and students to discuss how this program equips students for Colorado’s innovation economy.
“With our state and nation’s future success directly tied to our ability to lead and compete in the innovation economy, the Colorado Space Grant Consortium is a great program to give our kids the chance to get hands-on experience and training in emerging fields,” said Bennet. “Programs like this one can arm the next generation of Coloradans with the technical skills and experience to compete and excel in the 21st century job market. Our country can lead in the innovation economy through work that starts here in Colorado.”
At the nexus between a quality education and a high-paying job, the Colorado Space Grant Consortium uses the excitement of our country’s aeronautics and space program to inspire, educate and develop America’s future technological workforce by enabling a diverse community of students to participate in space-based hands-on projects, courses and outreach activities.
The Colorado Space Grant Consortium is a state-wide program that provides Colorado students access to space through innovative courses, real-world hands-on satellite programs, and interactive outreach programs. It is funded by NASA as part of National Space Grant Program. There are 52 consortia in the National Space Grant program, with one consortium in each state, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
It involves 13 colleges, universities and institutions around the state. This year, the COSGC will involve over 200 college and university students directly in its programs. Bennet’s visit comes on the heels of a planned launch of a satellite designed, built and tested entirely by students participating in the space grant consortium program.
Colorado, home to the nation’s third largest space economy, has more than 100 companies engaged in the research, development and production of a wide variety of products and systems for commercial, military and space applications. The COSGC partners with a number of NASA centers, industries and organizations, including the Air Force Research Laboratory, Ames Research Center, Ball Aerospace, Composite Technology Development, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Marshall Space Flight Center, Microsat Systems, Planetary Systems Corporation, SpaceDev, SpaceWorks and Xilinx.