A nonprofit corporation with a national footprint recently set up shop in Albuquerque, with plans to expand and hire close to a dozen people in the Duke City while building off some of New Mexico's unique aerospace resources, its executive director told New Mexico Inno.
Stephenson Stellar Corp., headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, provides applied scientific research and development services, primarily involving cybersecurity consulting, for clients like the Space Development Agency and the Space Systems Command. Founded in January 2019, Stephenson Stellar signed an agreement with Albuquerque-based nonprofit NewSpace Nexus to use facilities and equipment at NewSpace's Launchpad, a co-working space at 2420 Alamo Ave. SE.
But that agreement, which gives Stephenson Stellar a mailing address and access to meeting rooms and other physical facilities in Albuquerque, is only the first part of the nonprofit's plans in New Mexico.
Ken Sweltz, Stephenson Stellar's executive director, said the nonprofit hopes to have a staff of six to 10 people based in Albuquerque in the next 12 to 18 months. That hiring could come with a standalone office location in the city, as well, once Stephenson Stellar's work in New Mexico scales more.
It's currently working on a cooperative research and development agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, based at Kirtland Air Force Base, which Stephenson Stellar hopes to complete in the next couple of weeks. The nonprofit has conducted other work in New Mexico including artificial intelligence-based testing at White Sands Missile Range, Sweltz said.
"But as we get more work directly with Kirtland group and others, we want to expand our presence there," he added, in regards to Albuquerque.
Part of Stephenson Stellar's reasoning behind establishing a physical presence in Albuquerque includes tapping into New Mexico's aerospace workforce. Sweltz mentioned finding interns and other junior-level staff from the University of New Mexico or retired military personnel, like those coming out of the U.S. Air Force, to fill positions in Albuquerque.
That's alongside the nonprofit's goal of being closer to new and existing clients in the state. Sweltz mentioned employees would have to travel down to New Mexico from Stephenson Stellar's office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to work with customers in the Land of Enchantment, or hold meetings virtually.
"In addition to not only doing work organically within the state of New Mexico, we can hire folks within New Mexico to reach back to our other work," Sweltz said. He added, "We are really, really excited. I think there's some good talent here."
Stephenson Stellar employs 40 people in offices including Shreveport, Colorado Springs, Huntsville, Alabama, and Washington, D.C. The nonprofit generated just north of $40 million in "funded value" in fiscal year 2023, according to an overview presentation shared with New Mexico Inno, which represents the actual amount of funding that has currently been placed on contract with Stephenson Stellar.
It generated just above $100 million in total contract value in FY2023, which includes the maximum amount of money that can be applied to contracts with Stephenson Stellar, according to the same presentation.
The nonprofit started building a network in Albuquerque in January 2022, when Sweltz said a client with an Air Force Research Laboratory office in Rome, New York, introduced Stephenson Stellar to folks in New Mexico.
"It just grew from there," Sweltz said. "We've been talking and have probably 20 people now that we know pretty intimately within the Albuquerque ecosystem."
He mentioned talking with the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Yuriria Morales, a regional representative with the New Mexico Economic Development Department, as examples of some of the people Stephenson Stellar has worked with while expanding its footprint in the state.
Although the nonprofit does want to establish its own brick-and-mortar office in Albuquerque, Sweltz and J.D. Fassett, a director at Stephenson Stellar leading the nonprofit's expansion in Albuquerque, said NewSpace Nexus' Launchpad gives Stephenson Stellar a "beachhead" into the market.
"It allows us the ease of actually doing on-site business, whether it's work or meetings or what have you, it gives us that location," Fassett said about the Launchpad.
From there, Fassett said Stephenson Stellar can "branch out" to determine the most appropriate location and timing to open its brick-and-mortar office, as well as deciding whether to collaborate with others to share a physical location.
NewSpace Nexus established the 8,700-square-foot facility to provide space and resources to early stage startup companies or organizations that otherwise wouldn't have access to them. It comes with equipment like a clean room and 3D printers, as well as rooms for larger meetings.
