YUMA, AZ — Yuma calls itself the “Gateway of the Great Southwest," but now the city hopes to become the gateway to outer space.
The city hopes a parcel of land in the desert, just east of San Luis, near the border, could become the location of the first spaceport in Arizona.
“What we’re talking about is a spaceport which would launch small rockets which would carry communications satellites. We’re not launching people or launching Teslas; we’re launching small rockets," Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said.
Mayor Nicholls was named to the recently relaunched Arizona Space Commission by Governor Katie Hobbs. The spaceport project in Yuma has been in the works for years, first gaining traction in 2019 when the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation got a grant to do a feasibility study.
Yuma's desert climate and location near the Sea of Cortez make it a viable place to safely launch rockets.
“With the trajectory to the south, we get up over the Gulf of California in about six seconds," Nicholls said. "So that gives us a unique opportunity in the state to be an asset to launch rockets.”
While the rockets are small, they’re big business. The World Economic Forum projects the space industry to be worth nearly $2 trillion in a decade.
Interest in the project in Yuma has reached the state capitol.
State Senator Tim Dunn helped send a letter to the federal government pushing for spaceport approval, saying he’s committed to making sure Yuma’s other big business isn’t impacted.
“We’re having conversations, talking about making sure the gasses they use are non-toxic, so it doesn’t impact our citizens or agriculture industry,” Dunn said.
The final hurdle to clear is getting FAA approval, and then, hopefully, launchpad construction can begin. Mayor Nicholls says the goal is to finish their application by the end of the year. Even though the city is likely still a few years out from seeing a launch, he says it's on a promising trajectory, and the project will be worth the wait.
“It could bring us some more tourism, and overall interest, and hopefully brings some more economic opportunities for us," Nicholls said.
