NewSpace New Mexico is ditching the Land of Enchantment — but only in name, not in spirit.
The Albuquerque-based aerospace nonprofit announced Monday it's changing its name to NewSpace Nexus. The new name serves to better represent the organization's work with aerospace companies across the country, not only in New Mexico, Casey Anglada DeRaad, NewSpace's founder and CEO, wrote in a letter sent to Albuquerque Business First explaining the change.
"Our vision is to serve as a global resource nexus for the fragmented space ecosystem," DeRaad wrote in the letter.
DeRaad wrote that the organization underwent a nearly year-long renaming process, considering over a dozen alternatives before settling on NewSpace Nexus. Market Ascent, an Albuquerque strategy and marketing consulting firm, led the organization through the brand naming process, said Erika Hecht, the firm's founder and NewSpace consultant.
The NewSpace brand isn't changing with the new name, and its work and mission are staying the same, DeRaad wrote.
"The name communicates that we are at the center of the new space industry and it underscores our commitment to excellence," DeRaad wrote. "Plus, our name will continue to be catchy, memorable and fun, just like NewSpace New Mexico."
DeRaad founded the nonprofit in 2019 after a multi-decade career at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque. The organization runs a blend of accelerator and aerospace industry-focused programs and operates a multi-purpose workspace, called the NewSpace Launchpad, at 2420 Alamo Ave. SE in Albuquerque.
NewSpace is actively raising money, DeRaad told Business First in April. She said the nonprofit is targeting between $3 and $10 million to purchase more equipment for aerospace companies to use at the Launchpad.
That facility hosted the inaugural NewSpace Ignitor Program in February, which brought representatives from 18 aerospace companies to Albuquerque for networking, seminars and a pitch competition.
NewSpace was also part of a recent effort to secure a chunk of federal money in support of some aerospace-related projects in New Mexico, alongside the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, the New Mexico International Trade Alliance, CNM Ingenuity, Central New Mexico Community College and the City of Albuquerque. Although that group of organizations — dubbed the New Mexico Space Valley Coalition — missed out on the second phase of federal funding, NewSpace and others are still leading efforts to attract more aerospace business to New Mexico.
Part of that comes from outreach at aerospace industry events, like the recent Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs in mid-April. Representatives from New Space were there, alongside some other New Mexico organizations.
"New Mexico's state-wide commitment to the industry has been unwavering, and our assets and local space economy have grown exponentially along with our state's accomplishments and reputation," DeRaad wrote in the letter. "We will continue to work with our state, regional, national and global partners to accelerate innovation in our hyper-growth industry."
