By Richard Dyer | YourValley
With news of space-travel company Virgin Galactic setting up a final-assembly manufacturing facility near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, other aerospace companies could be enticed to open in the southeast Mesa area, officials said.
The airport is operated by the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority. PMGAA consists of representation from Apache Junction, Mesa, Queen Creek, Gilbert, Gila River Indian Community and Phoenix.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. signed a long-term lease for the facility for its next-generation Delta class spaceships. It is under construction and is expected to be fully operational by late 2023 and capable of producing up to six spaceships per year and bringing hundreds of highly skilled aerospace engineering and manufacturing jobs to the area, according to a release.
“Virgin Galactic — we expect that is going to be about 800 jobs. There will be supply-chain consequences from having that type of a large manufacturing facility. There will be plenty of jobs and businesses that will be drawn to Mesa to support that,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said.
