Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today joined more than 30 aerospace executives, university and K-12 officials, and government leaders in visiting the headquarters of Ball Aerospace in Boulder for a tour and presentations on Colorado’s space economy.
The stop was part of a day-long “Front Range Aerospace Bus Tour” Bennet hosted with the Ball, United Launch Alliance, the Space Foundation, and Lockheed Martin.
“Our state’s vibrant aerospace industry is an economic driver for our economy, Bennet said. “In order to keep moving this industry forward, it’s critical that we continue to foster this type of regional collaboration.”
“Our universities are educating the next generation of leaders in STEM-related fields,” CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStafano said. “This tour made visual the abundance of opportunities available for these students within our state’s robust aerospace industry.”
“More than 95 percent of the degrees at Mines are awarded in applied science and engineering fields, one of the highest concentrations in the nation,” Peter Han, Chief of Staff for Colorado School of Mines President Bill Scoggins, said. “That means the aerospace sector is a huge place of opportunity for our students. Besides that, our Center for Space Resources is conducting research that has a variety of applications for the defense industry and this cross-regional information is key to building those relationships.”
“DigitalGlobe has locations around the world, from places as far as Singapore and London, and two of them are right here along Colorado’s Front Range,” Jeff Tarr, CEO of Longmont-based DigitalGlobe, said. “The fact that we chose Colorado as our global headquarters and maintain a majority of our workforce here is a testament to our state’s strong aerospace economy. To keep that economy thriving, we must continue fostering this type of regional interaction.”
The tour was designed to further advance regional cooperation and highlight key facets of Colorado’s vibrant aerospace economy.
Other stops included the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs and United Launch Alliance in Centennial.