MIDLAND, Texas — Spaceport development continues to be an area of focus in Midland. On Monday, the Midland Development Corporation approved an agreement for the Texas Chapter of the Space Force Association to be headquartered right in West Texas.
The Spaceport Business Park at the Midland International Air and Space Port is an area well known to aerospace industry folks statewide and beyond.
The business and development currently seen in the Tall City might be just getting started as the Space Force Association sees the potential that Midland’s air and space port can provide.
When most think about the Permian Basin, they think oil and gas production.
"Midland’s got so much technology and like a century of drilling in the ground and making resources," said Eric McManus, president of the Texas Chapter of the Space Force Association. "So, that’s what we need in space right now.”
But in Midland, its air and space port is an attraction too.
“It’s actually the only spaceport and airport in the world that’s jointly located," McManus said.
That unique reality makes it a shining star for the aerospace industry.
“West Texas is going to be a very, very strong key player in the development of space domain awareness and securing that U.S. dominance in space," McManus said.
The Texas Chapter of the Space Force Association has been around for over two years, and they now have a place in Texas to call home.
“We found that Midland has an active spaceport with the ability to launch horizontal flight for supersonic and hypersonic testing, and also a very robust economic program for supporting this developing industry," McManus said.
The Midland Development Corporation helped to make this official.
“Nurturing and building a new industry in a region takes a lot of time and investment," said Sara Harris, executive director of the Midland Development Corporation. "Thankfully we’ve had really far-sighted leadership to see the potential the aerospace and defense has here in Midland, so this is just the next step moving forward in the industry for having activity in Midland and support from Midland.”
Support from Midland and attracting activity from all over.
“The first step is information – gaining that information and using that information to advocate," McManus said. "And so, it’s very important that the rest of Texas and the nation understands what capabilities are available in Midland, West Texas and Texas so that they can accelerate their technologies.”
A final attraction for the Space Force Association was the Midland community.
“This seems to be the capital of the Permian Basin and we see this as the capital of the future testing capabilities of space force," McManus said.
McManus noted that they are appreciative for the MDC in supporting them with a platform to promote their events, information and advocacy efforts that are made with the space force industry.
McManus added that this anchors their association and allows them to now focus on community to continue the development of the space force industry.