New Mexico's Spaceport America is looking for a firm to handle its public relations consulting.
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority, the state-run body that oversees the Spaceport, released a request for proposal last Thursday for the procurement of professional services for public relations consulting. The proposal notes that the Spaceport Authority is seeking "a public affairs/media relations firm that has a history of working with the aerospace industry and government agencies."
The deadline to submit a proposal is 3 p.m. on February 7.
An existing multi-year public relations contract between the Spaceport Authority and El Paso, Texas-based Barracuda Public Relations is set to expire this spring. The new contract created through this RFP will be a replacement for that existing contract, said Alice Carruth, Spaceport America's public information officer.
The Spaceport Authority appointed Belinda Benavidez, chief procurement officer for Spaceport America, as procurement manager for the RFP.
According to the request for proposals, the public relations consulting work will "help attract customers to the spaceport and help the region in building the aerospace sector." It may be a multiple award, the request notes.
The release of the RFP comes as Virgin Galactic — the Spaceport's largest tenant — ramps up plans for commercial service starting in the second quarter of this year. The Spaceport also recently set plans to upgrade infrastructure in both its vertical launch area and horizontal launch area, as well as a new reception center.
Spaceport America, located in Southern New Mexico between Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces, is a commercial spaceport designed for private companies to use its facilities for flight tests and other operations. Those tenants include companies like UP Aerospace Inc. and SpinLaunch.
The Spaceport's Public Information Officer, Alice Carruth, previously told Albuquerque Business First that the Spaceport is in discussion with close to 20 companies about potential leases. It's budgeted $10.8 million in revenue for fiscal year 2023, according to an August Spaceport Authority presentation.
