NEW CONSORTIUM HOPES TO TAP EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES SPACEPORT WOULD OFFER

June 29, 2015

Education and the opportunities borne of the Houston Spaceport project go hand-in-hand.

As part of the announcement that Houston Airport System (HAS) has been granted a Launch Site License from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), establishing Ellington Airport (EFD) as the 10th commercial spaceport in the United States, Dr. David Alexander, Director of Rice Space Institute at Rice University, also announced that Rice, the University of Houston, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas-Austin have formed a partnership to create the Texas University Space Consortium.

The consortium will work toward joint educational and research collaborations focused on space and space technologies. The Houston Spaceport, with its proximity to both the Johnson Space Center and the ever-evolving industry and innovation of the city, will provide an opportunity to teach the lessons learned from nearly six decades of space exploration in a burgeoning environment of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“At universities across the country, students are looking for more from their education.  They want to be challenged, solve real problems, and have an impact on the world,” Alexander said during the announcement event at the Hobby Center. “Endeavors like the Houston Spaceport are the bridges between the developing new space culture and the transitioning space establishment.”