LAS CRUCES, NM - Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, a public/private sector membership-funded economic development alliance that serves all of Doña Ana County, welcomed today ARCA SPACE Corporation to the North American Borderplex. The announcement of ARCA SPACE's new operational location took place at the Las Cruces International Airport in the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Physical Science Laboratory's Unmanned Systems Flight Test Center Hangar.
"MVEDA is proud of the commitment ARCA SPACE Corporation has made to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and to the North American Borderplex - the home of their unmanned systems operations. Tremendous collaboration, community engagement, and support all existed to bring the ARCA SPACE Corporation to the Borderplex. Our engagement with ARCA is a model story to discuss and replicate. Today's announcement shows how our regional business leaders, our educational centers of excellence, and the proactive business environment created by Governor Susana Martinez, worked together to bring manufacturing growth and development to the Borderplex," said Davin Lopez, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance.
ARCA SPACE is a US-based aerospace research and development NGO started in 1999 in the European Union. During 16 years of activity, it succeeded to launch 15 flight missions. ARCA was one of the major contenders in the $10 million, Ansari X Prize Competition. The ARCA SPACE Corporation is developing two main programs: Haas suborbital and orbital rockets family; and the AirStrato, a revolutionary air robot, aiming to become a stepping stone in the world of autonomous flying vehicles. AirStrato is the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) product that the company will be producing in Las Cruces where they have established their U.S.-based corporate headquarters.
10 years ago, the Physical Science Laboratory at NMSU first established the Flight Test Center, which quickly became a very unique asset for UAV research and development. Through a collaboration with local business leaders, MVEDA was able to work with ARCA to understand their goals in this field, identify supporting resources, and facilitate conversations with the City of Las Cruces and the New Mexico Economic Development Department office that incentivized ARCA's short- and long-term investment in the Borderplex.