BY SENATOR(S) Todd and Lambert, Crowder, Heath, Aguilar, Balmer,Ā Baumgardner, Carroll, Donovan, Garcia, Grantham, Guzman, Hill,Ā Hodge, Holbert, Jahn, Johnston, Jones, Kefalas, Kerr, Lundberg, Marble,Ā Martinez Humenik, Merrifield, Neville T., Newell, Roberts, Scheffel,Ā Scott, Sonnenberg, Steadman, Ulibarri, Woods, Cadman;Ā also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Rosenthal and Nordberg, Carver, Joshi,Ā Keyser, Ryden, Van Winkle, Arndt, Becker J., Becker K., Brown, Buck,Ā Buckner, Conti, Coram, Court, Danielson, DelGrosso, Dore, Duran,Ā Esgar, Everett, Fields, Foote, Garnett, Ginal, Hamner, Humphrey, Kagan,Ā Klingenschmitt, Kraft-Tharp, Landgraf, Lawrence, Lebsock, Lee,Ā Lontine, Lundeen, McCann, Melton, Mitsch Bush, Moreno, Navarro,Ā Neville P., Pabon, Pettersen, Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Ransom, Roupe,Ā Saine, Salazar, Sias, Singer, Tate, Thurlow, Tyler, Vigil, Willett,Ā Williams, Wilson, Windholz, Winter, Young, Hullinghorst.
CONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF MARCH 23, 2015, ASĀ “COLORADO AEROSPACE DAY” .
WHEREAS, Our nation and the world have significantly benefitedĀ from technological and scientific advances resulting from spaceĀ exploration and aerospace activities; and
WHEREAS, Colorado is the numberĀ one aerospace state in theĀ country in terms of per-capita employment and the third largest aerospaceĀ economy in the United States in terms of total numbers ā ranking onlyĀ behind California and Florida; and
WHEREAS, 163,000 Coloradans are employed in space-related jobs,Ā generating approximately $3.2 billion in annual payroll; and
WHEREAS, Colorado is home to the nation’s top aerospaceĀ companies, including Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Exelis, Lockheed MartinĀ Space Systems, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Sierra NevadaĀ Corporation, and United Launch Alliance, with close to 500 otherĀ space-related companies providing aerospace products and services,Ā including spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites, components, software,Ā sensors, and navigation operations; and
WHEREAS, Many Colorado companies have made significantĀ contributions to NASA’s Orion Spacecraft, such as Littleton-basedĀ Lockheed Martin’s role in the spacecraft’s design and engineering as wellĀ as in its components and heat shield creation, Broomfield-based BallĀ Aerospace’s role in its flight camera development, and Centennial-based United Launch Alliance’s launch of the Delta IV Heavy Rocket for itsĀ historic unmanned Exploration Flight Test 1, known as EFT-1, onĀ December 5, 2014; and
WHEREAS, EFT-1 was the first flight of a human-rated spacecraft inĀ over 40 years and took Orion to an altitude of 3,600 miles above theĀ Earth’s surface, more than 15 times farther than the International SpaceĀ Station; reentered the atmosphere at speeds of over 20,000 miles per hour;Ā reached temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit; and was viewed atĀ Cape Canaveral by a group of more than 400 elected officials, businessĀ leaders, citizens from Colorado, and tens of thousands more from acrossĀ the nation and around the world; and
WHEREAS, Colorado is a strategic location for national spaceĀ activity, with four key military commands ā the United States Air ForceĀ Space Command, the United States Army’s 1st Space Brigade, the UnitedĀ States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and the North AmericanĀ Aerospace Defense (NORAD) ā and three space-related United StatesĀ Air Force bases ā Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever; and
WHEREAS, Two organizations are instrumental to Colorado’sĀ prominence in aerospace ā the Colorado Space Coalition (CSC), a groupĀ of industry stakeholders working to further grow Colorado as a center ofĀ excellence for aerospace that includes members from space companies,Ā military leaders, academic organizations, research centers, and economicĀ development groups that promote Colorado’s significant space assets andĀ advance legislation vital to industry growth and success ā and theĀ Colorado Space Business Roundtable (CSBR), which brings togetherĀ aerospace stakeholders from industry, government, and academia forĀ roundtable discussions and business development and encouragesĀ grassroots citizen participation in aerospace issues through the ColoradoĀ Chapter of Citizens for Space Exploration; and
WHEREAS, The CSBR and CSC have conducted businessĀ development road trips around the state of Colorado over the past fewĀ years in partnership with aerospace organizations, companies, academia,Ā the Colorado Competitive Council, Action 22, CLUB 20, and ProgressiveĀ 15 in order to find suppliers and subcontractors for aerospace projects andĀ to promote aerospace in rural Colorado and Science, Technology,Ā Engineering, and Math (STEM) in Colorado schools, and, during theseĀ road trips, have discovered remarkable aerospace innovation, such as theĀ Durango Aerospace Design Team who placed first in NASA’s NationalĀ Space Settlement Design Competition, securing themselves an invitationĀ to the World Design Finals where they took first place in the world andĀ won their sixth world championship title; and
WHEREAS, Colorado’s universities, including the University ofĀ Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder), University of Colorado at ColoradoĀ Springs, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University,Ā University of Denver, and Colorado Mesa University, are among theĀ world’s best for aerospace-related degrees and offer aerospace companies one of the country’s most-educated workforces; and
WHEREAS, CU-Boulder is producing Colorado’s aerospace leaders,Ā with graduates serving as senior executives, engineers, project managers,Ā and program managers in aerospace-related industries throughout theĀ state, the nation, and the world; and
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WHEREAS, CU-Boulder is also the number one NASA-funded publicĀ university in the United States, with over a dozen aerospace-relatedĀ academic units and a variety of related programs on campus that supportĀ the aerospace industry, the business of aerospace, space science andĀ research, the application of aerospace technology, and research to solvingĀ earth-bound challenges; has a top-ten graduate program in aerospaceĀ engineering; is home to the Laboratory for Atmospheric and SpaceĀ Physics, which is the only research institute in the world to send missionsĀ to all eight planets and Pluto; and is the originator of the MAVEN MarsĀ mission; and
WHEREAS, CU-Boulder counts among its legacy 18 astronauts andĀ conducts millions of dollars in world-class, aerospace-related researchĀ annually, resulting in new scientific discoveries and technologies; and
WHEREAS, Metropolitan State University of Denver is working toĀ fill a shortage of more than 500,000 unfilled advanced manufacturingĀ jobs across the country in the area of aviation and aerospace by partneringĀ with industry and government to develop its Aerospace and EngineeringĀ Sciences program that will integrate the study of aviation and aerospaceĀ science; industrial design; civil, mechanical, and electrical engineeringĀ technology; computer science and computer information systems; andĀ business management, and the programs will be housed in a newĀ state-of-the-art Aerospace and Engineering Sciences building, providingĀ students with the technology and labs necessary to give them a highlyĀ experiential, relevant education; and
WHEREAS, The Fort Lewis College Physics and EngineeringĀ program, with its cutting-edge research and curriculum supported byĀ multiple university and industry partners, has been growing at 35% perĀ year and will be housed in a new and state-of-the-art Geosciences,Ā Physics, and Engineering building beginning in fall 2016; and
WHEREAS, This academic program enables Fort Lewis College toĀ contribute the scientists and engineers with aerospace-related technicalĀ skills, particularly in the areas of robotics and electromechanical systems,Ā necessary to power economic development for aerospace and otherĀ industries throughout the region and state; and
WHEREAS, The O’Neil Group Company plans to create anĀ innovation district in downtown Colorado Springs that will create anĀ environment where private-sector companies will collaborate withĀ public-sector entities to spur workforce development, education, andĀ startups to create long-lasting jobs in the community; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventieth General Assembly of theĀ State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
(1) That we strongly urge and request the Executive and Legislative Branches of the United States government to take action to preserve and enhance United States leadership in space, to spur innovation, and to ensure our continued national and economic security by preserving and increasing funding for space exploration and activities, including regaining the ability of the United States to deliver persons and cargo to low-Earth orbit by 2018 and committing to send persons to destinations such as the Moon, Lagrange points, asteroids, and Mars within this decade or as soon as technologically possible;
(2) That we recognize and appreciate Colorado’s space and aerospace companies and organizations;
(3) That we recognize and appreciate the contributions of Colorado’sĀ universities, colleges, and national research laboratories to the space andĀ aerospace industries;
(4) That we express our most sincere and deepest appreciation to theĀ men and women working in and supporting military and civilianĀ aerospace companies and organizations in Colorado; and
(5) That we hereby declare March 23, 2015, to be “ColoradoĀ Aerospace Day”.
Be It Further Resolved,Ā That a copy of this Joint Resolution be sent toĀ President Barack Obama; Speaker John Boehner; House Minority LeaderĀ Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; Senate MinorityĀ Leader Harry Reid; Senator Cory Gardner; Senator Michael Bennet;Ā Congresswoman Diana DeGette; Congressman Jared Polis; CongressmanĀ Scott Tipton; Congressman Ken Buck; Congressman Doug Lamborn;Ā Congressman Mike Coffman; Congressman Ed Perlmutter; Charles F.Ā Bolden, Jr., NASA Administrator; Dava Newman, NASA DeputyĀ Administrator; Mr. Michael P. Huerta, Federal Aviation AdministrationĀ Administrator; Dr. George C. Nield, Associate Administrator forĀ Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration;Ā Governor John Hickenlooper; Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia; MajorĀ General H. Michael Edwards, the Adjutant General, Colorado NationalĀ Guard; General John Hyten, Air Force Space Commander; Colonel DanĀ Wright, USAF, Commander Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado; BettyĀ Sapp, Director, National Reconnaissance Office; Charles Huettner,Ā Executive Director, Aerospace States Association; Elliott Pulham, Chief Executive Officer, Space Foundation; Major General (Retired) AndyĀ Love, Co-Chair, Colorado Space Coalition; Tom Marsh, Co-Chair,Ā Colorado Space Coalition; Edgar Johansson, President and CEO,Ā Colorado Space Business Roundtable; Frank Backes, Chair, ColoradoĀ Space Business Roundtable; and Stacey DeFore, Chair, Colorado Citizens for Space Exploration.
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Bill L. Cadman āĀ PRESIDENT OFĀ THE SENATE
Dickey Lee Hullinghorst ā SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Cindi L. Markwell āĀ SECRETARY OF THE SENATE
Marilyn Eddins ā Ā CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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For more information on Colorado Aerospace Day 2015, including a video of the day’s events, click the below links:
Colorado Aerospace Day 2015 at the Capitol Video
Colorado Aerospace 2015-2016 Brochure