By Vanessa Pimentel | Cronkite News
PHOENIX – “Our opportunities are boundless, just like space,” Gov. Katie Hobbs told an audience at the second annual Arizona Space Summit in Tempe last month.
Arizona is the fifth-largest employer in aerospace and defense manufacturing, home to more than 1,250 supply chain contributors, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. Sandra Watson, the authority’s president and CEO, said Arizona has become the “global hot spot for emerging technologies and advanced manufacturing.”
Major industry players in Arizona have a significant impact on the economy. Together, these companies employ more than 52,000 people directly, according to the authority. Its website states the numbers reflect “Arizona’s long-standing history with leading names in the industry — companies whose continued success in everything from unmanned aircraft systems to missiles, space vehicles to commercial aircraft and research into alternative fuels — drives further future growth.”
“Arizona is open for business, and in our state you will find a partner with a shared focus on the future and one that is rooted in innovation,” Hobbs said.
Jessica Rousset directs Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative, leading its strategy, collaborations and operations. She explains how the space sector reflects job opportunities, infrastructure and benefits for Arizona.
“We get a lot of data from space in terms of informing agriculture, informing mining. Mining is a huge activity here (in Arizona),” Rousset said in an interview. “So that’s a very interesting synergy between mining in space, mining on Earth.”
