New Mexico

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Announces 2023 Final Numbers

Kim Stevens

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta announced its final numbers for the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta held October 7 – 15, 2023.

Final Numbers included 546 total registered hot air balloons with 107 special shape balloons, of which 12 were new to the Fiesta.  

  • Total number of registered hot air balloons: 546
  • Total number of registered special shape balloons: 107 (12 new to Balloon Fiesta)
  • Total number of registered pilots (primary and additional): 629
  • Total number of Gordon Bennett Gas Race teams: 17
  • Total number of remote-control balloons: 75
  • Total number of estimated guest visits: 968,516
  • Total number of media organizations: 142
  • Total number of registered media representatives: 836
  • Total number of views on Balloon Fiesta Live: 771,631
  • Total Number of sensory relief bags provided by KultureCityÔ at Balloon Fiesta: 252
  • Total number of KultureCityÔ Sensory Activation Vehicle uses at Balloon Fiesta: 208
  • Total numbers of countries represented (registered pilots and Gordon Bennett): 16 – Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Event Sessions: Two of the 14 sessions were canceled due to poor weather conditions (10/12 evening and 10/15 morning) and one was counted as a rain check event, with tickets allowed for re-use during the 51st Balloon Fiesta (10/12 evening).

Gordon Bennett: Of the 17 teams, 16 launched from Balloon Fiesta Park on Saturday, October 7 at 8:30 p.m. MT. Winners of the race were France team two, piloted by Eric Decellieres and Benoit Havret, who traveled 2,661.40 kilometers before landing in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Balloon Competition Winners: The first prize in the hot air overall competition was awarded to David Strasmann of Switzerland. Second overall highest score went to Joe Zvada of Texas, third to Joe Heartsill of Texas and fourth to Tomas Hora of the Czech Republic.

Remote Control Balloons – On Wednesday, October 11, Balloon Fiesta set a new Guinness World Record for the “Largest Display of Model Hot Air Balloons” of 55 balloons. The new record of 58 model hot air balloons (also known as Remote Control Balloons) was set by the Balloon Fiesta when they were on all display at one time.

Navigators: 1,134 Navigators volunteered during this year’s event. Navigators (not including chase crew) are volunteers who provide guest services, administrative services, balloon coordination and safety, set-up and logistics, and more in over 40 different areas.

X Marks the Spot: Landowners picked up over 800 X-Packs to mark their land as an approved spot for balloonists to land during this year’s event. There were also many, colored sheets that were displayed to indicate the land was open for landings. X Marks the Spot is sponsored by the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce. The winners included:

  • John And Jeremy Mechenbier
  • Chris Aldrige
  • Iris Flechsenhaar
  • Viviana Moreno
  • Abigail Savage
  • Debbie Harlow
  • Lance Flemming
  • Kelsey Culbertson
  • Myia Hackett

KultureCity Sensory Activation Vehicle (S.A.V.E.) – New this year was a the KultureCity Sensory Activation Vehicle (S.A.V.E.) that served as a space for sensory refuge for Balloon Fiesta guests. 460 families and between 920 and 1840 individuals leveraged this space.

Additional information about the 2023 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta can be found at www.balloonfiesta.com. The 52nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be held October 5-13, 2024.

Australian Rocketry Team Regains Sky Wings with Triple Win at Spaceport America Cup

Kim Stevens

The USYD Rocketry Team was announced as the overall winner of the Spaceport America Cup intercollegiate rocketry competition, held annually in New Mexico.

Competing against 97 student teams from around the globe, including ETH Zurich and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of Sydney team placed first in three categories – winning the overall competition with the highest points scored, and taking out first place for the launch of their 30,000 feet commercial-off-the-shelf rocket Bluewren and first place for the design of space debris capture payload Callistemon.

The results were announced after a nail-biting, three-week wait due to a data recovery error.

The University of Sydney team won the overall competition. Image: Spaceport.

Bluewren soared to a height of 29,933 feet – roughly nine kilometres – over the New Mexico desert before successfully deploying both its parachutes, landing safely and intact three kilometres from the launch site.

Spaceport America Cup judges commended the University of Sydney team for their sportsmanship, comaraderie, rocket launch and design. The team’s payload Callistemon was praised for its performance during the launch and for being an innovative solution to the growing problem of space junk.

The team’s Executive Director, Bachelor of Engineering and Science student Alison Lockley said: “This has been the most incredible and rewarding experience and I could not be prouder. We have overcome some significant challenges to get here, and it speaks to the tenacity and dedication of every person on my team that we have been able to achieve this.”

“Callistemon is not just a technical demonstration, but the culmination of novel research conducted by our payload team into the use of computer vision for the dynamic targeting of space debris,” said Bhavesh Balaji, payload director.

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, in June the team flew to the US to compete at the competition, making it their second Spaceport America Cup launch since winning the 10,000 feet competition with their rocket Silvereye in 2019. In 2021 Spaceport America Cup held a virtual competition, with the Sydney team winning silver and bronze for their rocket, Firetail, and payload, Tetratheca.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott AO congratulated the team on the triple win.

“After two years of being grounded by COVID, USYD Rocketry Team have got their sky wings back. Their win is testament to their teachers and the skill and determination they have developed together and proves that University of Sydney students are truly world class. Congratulations to the team on this fantastic result,” Professor Scott said.

Academic supervisor from the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Associate Professor Matthew Cleary said: “The practical, hands-on experience of designing and building a competition rocket has augmented the students’ technical, project management, logistics and systems engineering skills. However, perhaps most importantly, they have learnt the value of both leadership and team-work – indispensable skills in the aerospace industry.”

Bluewren was constructed from a custom-designed and manufactured carbon fibre airframe and uses a commercial solid propellant to achieve speeds 1.7 times the speed of sound.

State Awards $20M to 11 Regional Airport Projects

Kim Stevens

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Aviation Division will award $20 million to 11 regional airport projects, including $1.9 million to Los Alamos, that will benefit existing facilities and create new infrastructure benefiting both commercial and general aviation, as well as local economies.

The airport projects will be supported through two funding sources. During the 2021 special legislative session, $10 million was allocated from the American Rescue Plan Appropriation (APRA) funds for statewide regional airports.

In addition, during the 2022 legislative session House Bill (HB) 2 awarded $5 million for essential air service for FY23-25 and another $5 million for regional airport projects.

The projects were drafted from existing Airport Capital Improvement Plans developed by New Mexico communities with airports. The NMDOT Aviation Division then scored the project proposals based on four criteria: safety, Federal Aviation Administration, priorities, development status and subjective need determination.

“I am confident in the Aviation Division’s staff knowledge of funding processes and their experience assisting airports in developing comprehensive capital improvement plans gives the department confidence the selected projects will have a positive impact on the states aviation system for both general and commercial aviation,” Transportation Secretary Mike Sandoval said.

The selected aviation projects subsidized with the $10 million ARPA funds include:

  • Los Alamos County Airport receives $1.9 million to construct a new fuel farm to service general aviation with both Avgas and Jet-A;
  • Santa Fe Municipal Airport receives $1.1 million to purchase a new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) truck. As well as pavement repair and maintenance of taxiway’s (A, C, J) $450,000.
  • Silver City Grant County Airport receives a total of $2,650,000 for an ARFF truck and a new fuel farm.
  • Tucumcari Municipal Airport receives $1.3 million for new fuel farm construction.
  • Truth or Consequences Regional Airport receives $1 million to address fuel farm safety issues; and
  • Taos Municipal Airport receives $1.6 million to rehabilitate the commercial aircraft parking apron.

The remaining projects are funded through HB 2:

  • Grants – Milan Municipal Airport receives $2.6 million for a new hanger and terminal and medivac station; and
  • Taos Municipal Airport receives $2.4 million towards completion of the commercial apron.

New Mexico EDD Grant to Benefit Town of Taos Airport

Kim Stevens

The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) has awarded its third rural LEDA infrastructure grant to the Town of Taos for airport industrial park investments that will help attract new businesses and better serve passengers, Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced.

The awards from the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) come under recent authority given to EDD that allows assistance to rural communities for important infrastructure improvements that can boost jobs and expand economic capacity.

The agreement is pending local government approval and would provide up to $1.7 million from EDD for a water distribution extension to the Taos Regional Airport.

Secretary Keyes said the state’s new 20-year Statewide Strategic Plan specifically address inequities between urban and rural areas – gaps that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Rural communities have fewer project-ready locations and this puts them at a disadvantage when competing for business development projects,” Keyes said. “This inequity is what led Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to expand LEDA and focus on rural infrastructure to level the playing field for smaller communities. This will remain a key goal for our department.”

The Moriarty Municipal Airport received a $283,000 grant in 2020 and was the first to benefit from the new initiative to better assist communities with improvements to publicly owned industrial properties and attract business development. Last month, the City of Clovis was awarded a $2.13 million LEDA grant to extend a municipal waterline to serve its airport, which serve residents as well as Airmen and families at Cannon Air Force Base.

For Taos, the new infrastructure will allow for light manufacturing and distribution businesses to grow, accommodate aviation-related services, and allow the community to expand its foothold in alternative energy, film, and technology services.

The airport improvements will also allow for better emergency response with a greater capacity to transport and treat severely ill patients and stage emergency medical personnel if needed, which has been a concern during recent COVID-19 surge.

“Funding to support smaller airports provides strategic economic assistance to the region,” New Mexico State Sen. Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales said. “Economic Development is an avenue to create jobs and support community businesses. The LEDA funding to the Taos airport from the state is an example of building a stronger and more sustainable economy for the Taos region and all of New Mexico.”

“This award is an important step in helping our region diversify and strengthen our economy with new good-paying career jobs and new clean industries that we could not compete for until now,” Town of Taos Mayor Daniel R. Barone said. “The town has already received proposals for over 440,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and 510 new positions over the next three years as part of this project. Our thanks to Cabinet Secretary Keyes, her staff, and the governor for their hard work and continued support of our community, the state, and our shared vision of better jobs for all citizens.”

The Taos Airport project includes a 6.5-mile water transmission line extension as well as a pump station and several easements. The project is a collaboration among local, state, and federal entities. The town received a $2 million CARES Act grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for utility improvements on airport grounds.

Sydney Rocketry Team to Compete at 2022 Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico

Kim Stevens

The University of Sydney Rocketry Team has been accepted to compete at the 2022 Spaceport America Cup – an international student rocketry competition which tests would-be rocket scientists.

They will be competing with their custom made 30,000 ft rocket, Blue Wren. It incorporates a bespoke carbon fiber airframe, student developed avionics, flight computer systems and recovery systems; all flown on a commercial-off-the-shelf rocket motor.

The rocket will be showcased and launched in Las Cruces, New Mexico in June 2022, with the team presenting their design and plans to a panel of judges from leading international aerospace organizations.

The USYD Rocketry Team placed second and third at the 2021 Spaceport America Cup competition. Held virtually due to the pandemic, students were tested on their rocket designs and simulations, which were presented via video conference.

In 2019, the team competed in person, travelling to New Mexico to launch their 10,000 ft rocket Silvereye and placing first in their category.

The team will complete a series of launch, simulation and safety tests in the lead up to the competition, with the first physical test taking place in early 2022. It will involve launching Blue Wren in a remote area of Far West NSW to determine how well and far it flies so that further tweaks can be made before the competition.

“We are extraordinarily excited to be heading to New Mexico as a team to launch our new 30,000 ft rocket, Blue Wren,” said Executive Director Alison Lockley.

“We want to build upon the successes we had this year and show what we can develop and produce as a team.”

FAA Opens Houston Space Safety Office to Increase Oversight of Texas and New Mexico Operations

Kim Stevens

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a safety field office in Houston to increase its oversight of commercial space operations in Texas and New Mexico.

From this location, FAA inspectors will be able to more effectively and efficiently monitor the ongoing testing programs and commercial space tourism operations of SpaceX and Blue Origin in Texas and Virgin Galactic in New Mexico, along with others in the region.

“Keeping the public safe as the pace of commercial space operations increases requires the FAA to adapt, be agile, and remain vigilant,” said Wayne Monteith, the FAA’s associate administrator of commercial space transportation. “The Houston field office will help us achieve these important goals.”

This is the latest action the FAA is taking to keep pace with the increasing frequency of commercial space launch and reentry activities. The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation also is increasing its safety inspection staff, reorganized the office to improve efficiency and accountability, and established an Office of Spaceports.

The FAA also streamlined and modernized its commercial space launch and reentry licensing regulations to allow the agency to spend more time on safety oversight and less on paperwork.

Last month, the FAA activated the Space Data Integrator capability that can track a space launch or reentry vehicle in near-real time as it travels through the National Airspace System. This new capability increases safety for all airspace users and assists the FAA in efficiently managing air traffic during space operations. 

In 2020, the FAA licensed 41 commercial space launches and reentries, and safely managed 45 commercial, civil, and Department of Defense space operations into the National Airspace System.  For 2021, those numbers could exceed 60 and 70, respectively.

New Mexico’s Sandia Labs Funded to Work on Three-Year Project to Address UAS Threats

Kim Stevens

Sandia National Laboratories robotics experts are working on a way to intercept enemy unmanned aircraft systems midflight. They successfully tested their concept indoors with a swarm of four unmanned aircraft systems that flew in unison, each carrying one corner of a net. Acting as a team, they intercepted the flying target, trapped it in air like an insect caught in a web and safely lowered it to the ground.

An unmanned aircraft system tracks and follows Sandia National Laboratories researcher David Novick, who is leading a project to identify, track and capture enemy UAS during flight.
(Photos by Randy Montoya)

This test was part of a two-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project called Aerial Suppression of Airborne Platforms. That demonstration led to funding for three years of continued research and testing for the Mobile Adaptive/Reactive Counter Unmanned System, or MARCUS, project, which will address current and future national security threats posed by small unmanned aircraft systems.

“This is the future of security and incident response,” said Jon Salton, manager of the Sandia team working on MARCUS. “Think of this as drone-against-drone. What we need to accomplish is combining ground- and aerial-based capabilities to more robustly address the UAS threat into the future.”

The government and defense industry have been exploring ways to intercept enemy unmanned aircraft systems, with some organizations having success in deploying nets toward targets from single drones. Sandia’s research built upon swarm coordination and carrying nets as a team.

The swarm of counter unmanned aircraft systems in Sandia’s 2017 Aerial Suppression of Airborne Platforms demonstration was controlled by a ground-based computer system, said project lead David Novick.

“The computer system knows where each aircraft is at any given time and sends commands that space and move the system as a whole appropriately,” he said. This is what enables the aircraft to optimize its position for intercepting target aircraft systems.

MARCUS continues where previous research ended

Sandia developed algorithms for airborne mobile defense systems during the 2017 aerial suppression project because ground systems have limitations, Salton said. For example, ground-based radar has difficulty identifying low-altitude threatening vehicles through buildings and trees. Airborne systems with sensors, used in the MARCUS project, could dramatically enhance the ability to mitigate threats, even as the technology continues to evolve, he said. The idea of MARCUS is that the unmanned aircraft systems would have the ability to intercept small threats and keep them at a safe distance from protected facilities and people.

MARCUS project research encompasses three phases: identify, track and capture. Novick said in the identification phase, sensors on unmanned aircraft systems will combine with ground-based systems to scan the environment. Computer systems will use this information to detect unmanned aircraft systems that pose a threat.

Additional unmanned aircraft systems could be deployed to track and assess a threat vehicle, gather information and predict future movements, Novick said.

If the threatening unmanned aircraft systems were captured, it would be taken to a safe location, away from the public or response personnel.

Researchers face current national security challenges

Researchers face the challenge of developing a system that has never been created before, said Novick. If the project is successful, multiple agencies could benefit from the technology, including the military, the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement entities and event organizers.

The MARCUS project is led by Sandia in collaboration with Rafael Fierro, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of New Mexico. The project is funded by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, and incorporates advanced algorithms funded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. The work is being performed in partnership with armasuisse Science and Technology of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport.

FAA Administrator Huerta Dedicates New Mexico Runway

Kim Stevens

Culminating a two-decade-long effort, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta joined local and state officials last week in dedicating the new, 8,600-foot runway at Taos Regional Airport.

The new runway is perpendicular to the original runway. It will enable pilots to operate more safely at times of year when wind directions make the airfield more challenging.

The project also comes with important provisions aimed at protecting the lands and lifestyle of the Taos Pueblo.

“An airport is a treasure. It is the lifeblood of a community, an asset that must be nurtured,” Huerta said. “The result of our collaborative efforts is a project that will improve both the safety and utility of this important regional transportation link, while respecting the traditional values and unique culture of the Taos Pueblo.”

Federal grants totaling about $25 million paid for most of the project cost.

The environmental review for the project included extensive government-to-government consultation with the Taos Pueblo, Town of Taos and numerous state and federal agencies.

This resulted in a number of mitigations, including the installation and operation of a passive noise monitoring system. The system, which began operating in 2014, will support a pre-project and post-project comparison of flights over the Taos World Heritage Site and adjacent lands.

Additionally, the FAA raised the voluntary minimum flight altitude above the World Heritage site from 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet.

“We got this project right because all of the stakeholders approached this in a spirit of collaborative partnership,” Huerta said. “Without tenacity, dedication and determination we would not be standing here today.”

Pueblo of Zuni Dedicates New Airport in New Mexico

Kim Stevens

From Left to right: Andrew L. Othole, Director Planning & Development/Airport Manager, Governor Val R. Panteah, Sr., Lt. Governor Birdena Sanchez, Councilwoman Virginia Chavez, Councilman Carleton Bowekaty, and Councilman Arlen Quetawki, Sr. (Zuni Tribal Council).
From Left to right: Andrew L. Othole, Director Planning & Development/Airport Manager, Governor Val R. Panteah, Sr., Lt. Governor Birdena Sanchez, Councilwoman Virginia Chavez, Councilman Carleton Bowekaty, and Councilman Arlen Quetawki, Sr. (Zuni Tribal Council).

The Pueblo of Zuni recently dedicated their new airport located about 5 miles west of Zuni, NM.

The project, which replaced the old airport, took fifteen years to complete. “After 15 years of planning, environmental work, data recovery, and several design iterations with the FAA, the construction began in 2014,” said Jane Lucero, Airport Development Administrator for the New Mexico Aviation Division. “It was completed in two phases, the first being the earthwork and the second being the paving.”

IMG_1582Jim Bildilli, a contract airport inspector working for GCR, Inc., was on hand for the festivities and provided the photos that accompany this article. “The day was rainy and not very conducive to holding a dedication, but it proceeded as planned,” said Bildilli. “It was probably the most unique dedication of a new airport that I’ve ever attended“… and I’ve been to quite a few.”

The Zuni people have lived in the American Southwest for thousands of years. Their cultural and religious traditions are rooted, in large part, in the people’s deep and close ties to the mountains, river ways, forests, and deserts of this ancient Zuni homeland.

The project was first identified back in 2000 to meet the needs of the Community.  The site selection study was completed in 20012 and then the planning began.  The final product was the newest airport in New Mexico with 473,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 256 acres fenced, 8,847 tons of asphalt, runway and taxiway lights.

“The NMDOT – Aviation Division was pleased to be a partner with the Pueblo of Zuni for this great accomplishment,” said Lucero. “It was a team effort and was a wonderful day celebrating the Pueblo of Zuni and the newest airport in New Mexico.”

New Mexico Lt. Governor John Sanchez Named Chair of ASA

Kim Stevens

SanchezNew Mexico Lt. Governor John Sanchez has been appointed Chairman of the Aerospace States Association (ASA) by outgoing Chair, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to complete her term. The ASA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization made up of lieutenant governors and governor-appointed delegates, and was formed to support educational outreach, foster economic development, and promote state-based perspectives in federal aerospace policy.

“I want to especially thank Governor Ivey for the leadership and passion she has demonstrated for in the state of Alabama and for the aerospace industry during her term as Chair of the ASA,” said Lt. Governor Sanchez. “Promoting the aerospace and aviation industries has been a top priority for my office and I look forward to sharing New Mexico’s historical and present day contributions to cutting edge research and development.”

Nationally, the aerospace industry contributes nearly $120 billion in export sales, resulting in a positive trade balance of $70.5 billion – the largest trade surplus of any manufacturing industry in the nation. In recent years, New Mexico has taken the necessary steps to enact and offer several incentives aimed at attracting new jobs and investment from aerospace and aviation companies. These incentives, combined with the state’s perfect climate and low population density, have made New Mexico one of the world’s premier locations for aerospace research, testing, and development.

“From the UAS testing at New Mexico State University’s Flight Test Center to the RPA training program at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico has emerged as a national leader and the ideal location for general aerospace and aviation,” added Lt. Governor Sanchez. “Today, we are proud to be home to the world’s first purpose built spaceport – Spaceport America; two national laboratories; three Air Force Bases; and White Sands Missile Range, the largest military installation in the nation. As Chairman of the ASA, I am eager to represent New Mexico’s interests and help mobilize the aerospace industry in states and local communities across the country.”