Las Cruces will showcase talent from around the world
The 2022 Spaceport America Cup takes place in Las Cruces from June 21-25, hosted by Spaceport America and the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA). The world’s largest intercollegiate rocketry conference and competition, the Spaceport America Cup will showcase the talents of more than 1,700 students and competitors from across the globe.
Sierra Space is participating for the first time and will have representatives attending the events. “We are honored to support the Spaceport America Cup,” Janet Kavandi said. Kavandi is the president of Sierra Space and a former NASA astronaut. “Our company’s mission is to build a platform in space to benefit life on Earth, and we are so inspired by this year’s participants. We know they will play a vital role in getting us there.”
The public is invited to attend the Spaceport America Cup kickoff at the Las Cruces Convention Center on June 21 at 9 am There are no costs for admission for visitors to attend the opening day. Rather, this is an opportunity to allow public school students and rocketry enthusiasts to see and meet the collegiate teams. Note that all following events at Spaceport America are closed to the general public.
During the event at the convention center, students and teams will have their rockets on display, and informational and educational booths will be available to the public. For those who want to watch the live rocket launches, ESRA will stream the launches Wednesday thru Saturday, as well as the closing ceremony on June 25 from 8 to 10 pm Livestreams will take place on the Spaceport America Cup Facebook page.
The annual Spaceport America Cup was canceled in 2020 due to the global pandemic; however, the event was held virtually in 2021 to accommodate the restrictions teams faced across the globe. This year, the 2022 Spaceport America Cup marks the return of an in-person competition.
“We’re thrilled to serve as the host city of the 2022 Spaceport America Cup,” Director of Visit Las Cruces Rochelle Miller-Hernandez said. “Our area has played a pivotal role in aerospace research and engineering, as well as space exploration. We invite all space enthusiasts to visit, learn from these students at the Las Cruces Convention Center, and explore the wealth of space-related activities in Las Cruces.”
As part of the Spaceport America Cup, four local universities are competing in the 2022 event. All four teams — The University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, New Mexico State University, and the University of Texas at El Paso — will be battling for the 2022 Chile Cup title.
For more information, visit spaceportamerica.com or visitlascruces.com.
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