Aviation & Aerospace

Metro New Mexico has long been a haven for aviation and aerospace enthusiasts, researchers, and major companies. A number of established manufacturers and suppliers as well as start-ups call Metro NM home and continue to generate a burst of energy for the growing aviation cluster. Industry advantages boost their success rate.

New Mexico has a growing roster of aviation/aerospace related companies. Many of these companies will build at the 300-acre Aerospace Technology Park (ATP) or on private land adjacent to Double Eagle II, the general aviation airport on the city's west side. Albuquerque is investing $36 million in utility and airport upgrades at ATP and will speed the construction process for aircraft-related companies.

Incentives

New Mexico's State Investment Council invests in private New Mexico firms by partnering with professional venture capitalists. Aviation and aerospace companies can take advantage of general incentives such as:

• New Mexico's job training program, which reimburses classroom and OJT costs, plus half of new hires' wages for up to 6 months
• a tax credit for 10% of the wages and benefits for each new job paying at least $40K in a metro area and $28K in a rural community
• the Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which equals 5% of the value of qualified equipment used in manufacturing.

They can also enjoy additional industry-specific incentives. To support the aviation cluster, the local community college has launched a training program for pilots and flight instructors, and a two-year degree in aviation sciences. The program may increase in size and scope to better serve aviation industry needs.

Aerospace

New Mexico is truly at the forefront of space exploration with plans to invest $100M to help build the Southwest Regional Spaceport south of Metro New Mexico, between Socorro and Las Cruces. To increase the level of interest and activity in the sector, the state legislature has passed a Spaceport Operations Exemption, which offers an exemption from gross receipts and compensating tax on space operations. New Mexico has been involved in space exploration since President Kennedy's first pledge to put a man on the moon. Lovelace Clinic, now Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, tested the nation's first astronauts, and the two national labs and the Air Force Research Laboratory have developed equipment for many NASA missions.

New Mexico has won the right to host the annual X-Prize Cup, a space and air show that is the sister event to the X-Prize awarded for progress in commercial space operations. The event is expected to run for two weeks each year in southern NM, where Virgin Galactic has agreed to a 20 year lease at the planned spaceport, with annual payments beginning at $1M. The company intends to launch luxurious spaceships to the far reaches of Earth's atmosphere by 2010. Two space industry companies have committed to doing business in the state, and several others are looking: Starchaser Industries, a British company; and UP Aerospace, a Connecticut-based company, both of which are building a reusable vehicle to launch experiments and other payloads into suborbital space.

New Mexico is also home to six observatories and telescopes, including the Very Large Array west of Socorro.

resources

Local companies can draw on expertise — and find clients — from many sources:

• Air Force Research Laboratory
• Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories
• Kirtland Air Force Base Space & Missile Systems Center
• University of New Mexico's Institutes of Meteoritics, Astrophysics, and Space & Nuclear Power Studies which does VLSI work for NASA
• The Professional Aerospace Contractors Association (PACA) is the dominant industry trade group in the Southwest.