Space Power Caucus , Colorado space stats

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Reaching toward the stars
A new congressional caucus is exploring the power of space
programs
By U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard
November 1, 2003

Congress recently initiated the Space Power Caucus after
discussions with Peter Teets, the undersecretary of the Air
Force, because the time is right to get the message out that
space is critical to this nation's future, both on the battlefield
and in industry.

We kicked off the Space Power Caucus this summer by having Teets
talk about his priorities and additional responsibilities as the
director of the National Reconnaissance Office and the Department
of Defense's executive agent for space. It is great to have Pete
Teets in that role, not only because he is superbly qualified for
the role, but also because he is a Colorado resident.

The Space Power Caucus was established to provide a venue to
educate members of Congress on the capabilities of our military
space programs, what those programs contribute to the war-
fighting ability of our armed forces and how those capabilities
contribute to the everyday benefit of our country through other
means.

The caucus will accomplish this through briefings, base visits
and symposiums. These events normally will be in Washington, D.C.,
while Congress is in session, but sometimes we will take this
show on the road.

We are tentatively planning such a trip for December, when we
will try to visit Colorado and the Air Force Space Command and
Army Space Command and then travel to Omaha and visit Strategic
Command. These trips will allow caucus members to observe these
space units and discuss issues with military and industry leaders.

The Space Power Caucus is open to members of both the House and
Senate. I am co-chairman of the Senate caucus along with Sen.
Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is chairwoman
of the House counterpart. We are always looking for other members
of Congress to join this cause to improve the level of
understanding and appreciation for space power programs.

[Snippage]

• Colorado has the fourth-largest space economy behind
California, Texas and Florida. That is ahead of many states with
far greater gross domestic products. Space programs account for
8 percent of our state's economy.

• Space programs will contribute $3.8 billion to the Colorado
economy this year. That is a lot of business for a state of any
size, and it is only getting better. It is projected to be more
than $7 billion by 2010.

• More than 38,000 direct space jobs are found in Colorado, with
30 percent of those directly supporting the military bases of
Peterson, Schriever, Buckley, the Air Force Academy and -NORAD.
If you add the number of indirect space jobs to that, the number
swells to more than 75,000.

• We have about 100 companies involved in the space industry in
Colorado. That includes some major players like Ball Aerospace,
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, but also includes
many companies with less than 30 employees. New companies and
well-established companies call Colorado home.

These comments by U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., were first made
to a round-table discussion hosted by Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, the
Colorado Office of Aerospace and Aeronautics, and the Denver Metro
Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 13. Allard can be reached via e-mail
through John Wood, his deputy press secretary, at
.