Six locations have made it past the first round of cuts and are still under consideration to become the new headquarters for U.S. Space Command — including Joint Base San Antonio.
The headquarters will employ about 1,400 military and civilian workers by the time it's fully operational and will pull from all the branches of the military, not just the Air Force.
In November, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said that along with its existing military ties, the city’s defense industry, public-private partnerships and supportive community make it a strong candidate.
What would this mean for San Antonio? What are the pros and cons?
What is the future of commercial space development in San Antonio? What notable space exploration research is happening locally?
Guests:
- Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio
- Adam Hamilton, president of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
- Sam Ximenes, founder and CEO of the San Antonio-based XArc Exploration Architecture Corporation
- George Abbey, senior fellow in the Space Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center
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*This interview was recorded on Wednesday, December 9.