First Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
ENGROSSED
LLS NO. R23-0895.01 Faith Marcovecchio x4331
SJR23-007
Senate Committees House Committees
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 23-007
C
ONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF MARCH 13, 2023, AS "COLORADO101
A
EROSPACE DAY".102
WHEREAS, Our nation and the world have significantly1
benefitted from technological and scientific advancements resulting from2
space exploration and aerospace activities; and3
WHEREAS, Colorado ranks first in the nation for aerospace4
employment concentration; and5
WHEREAS, There are over 34,000 Coloradans who are directly6
employed in aerospace, with the aerospace cluster supporting over7
240,000 jobs; and8
WHEREAS, Colorado is home to the nation's top aerospace9
SENATE
Final Reading
March 13, 2023
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Bridges and Gardner, Baisley, Buckner, Coleman, Cutter, Danielson, Exum, Fenberg,
Fields, Ginal, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Liston,
Lundeen, Marchman, Moreno, Mullica, Pelton B., Pelton R., Priola, Rich, Roberts,
Rodriguez, Simpson, Smallwood, Sullivan, Van Winkle, Will, Winter F., Zenzinger
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
DeGraaf and Marshall,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. companies, including Ball Aerospace, Boeing, L3Harris, Lockheed1
Martin Space, Maxar Technologies, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon,2
Sierra Space, and United Launch Alliance, and close to 500 additional3
companies that support the aerospace sector by providing services and4
developing products, including spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites,5
command and control software, sensors, and navigation operations; and6
WHEREAS, Colorado is a strategic location for national space and7
cyber activity, with five key military commands: North American8
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the United States Northern9
Command, the United States Strategic Command's Joint Functional10
Component Command for Space Missile Warning Center, the United11
States Space Command, and the United States Army Space and Missile12
Defense Command/ Army Forces Strategic Command, as well as three13
space-related United States Space Force bases: Buckley, Peterson, and14
Schriever; and15
WHEREAS, The United States Air Force Academy, along with16
Colorado's colleges and universities, including the University of Colorado17
Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado School of18
Mines, Colorado State University, Metropolitan State University of19
Denver, University of Denver, Colorado Mesa University, and Fort Lewis20
College, provides access to world-class aerospace-related degrees and21
offers aerospace companies one of the country's most educated22
workforces; and23
WHEREAS, Various organizations are key to Colorado's24
prominence in aerospace, such as the American Institute of Aeronautics25
and Astronautics, the world's largest aerospace technical society; the26
Colorado Space Coalition, a group of industry stakeholders working to27
grow and promote Colorado as a center of excellence for aerospace; the28
Colorado chapter of Citizens for Space Exploration, housed within the29
Colorado Business Roundtable, whose mission is to promote better30
understanding of aerospace and its importance in our economy and daily31
lives, as well as promoting the importance of human space exploration;32
and the Colorado Space Business Roundtable, an organization that works33
to convene stakeholders from industry, government, and academia to34
advance aerospace business and workforce opportunities throughout the35
state. Together these organizations form the Colorado chapter of the36
Aerospace States Association, a nonpartisan organization of lieutenant37
governors and associate members from aerospace organizations and38
academia who represent states' interests in federal aerospace and aviation39
007
-2- policy development led by Colorado Lieutenant Governor Dianne1
Primavera; and2
WHEREAS, In addition, the Colorado Air and Space Port, located3
east of the Denver International Airport, seeks to serve as America's hub4
for commercial space transportation, research, and development; this5
horizontal launch facility will have the potential to become the foundation6
for a global suborbital transportation network connecting Colorado7
globally; now, therefore,8
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventy-fourth General9
Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives10
concurring herein:11
12
That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly:13
(1) Strongly urge and request the government of the United States14
of America to take action to preserve and enhance American leadership15
in space, spur innovation, and ensure our continued national and16
economic security by supporting space exploration and activities,17
including sending United States astronauts (including the first female and18
first person of color who will walk on the Moon) under NASA's Artemis19
program, which launched its successful uncrewed test flight on November20
16, 2022. Hundreds of Colorado companies worked to make Artemis I a21
success, including Boeing, which built the Space Launch System rocket;22
United Launch Alliance, which built the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion23
system, the second stage that propelled Orion into orbit around the Moon;24
and Lockheed Martin Space, which designed and built the Orion25
spacecraft for NASA in Colorado, which traveled 1.4 million miles26
beyond the Moon and back;27
(2) Recognize and appreciate Colorado's space and aerospace28
companies and organizations, especially the growing membership and29
activities of the Colorado chapter of Citizens for Space Exploration, in30
partnership with the Colorado Business Roundtable, whose activities to31
promote space exploration are helping to increase public understanding32
and enthusiasm for exploration funding;33
(3) Recognize and appreciate the exciting new innovations34
coming this year with the inaugural flight of the United Launch Alliance35
Vulcan Centaur rocket; Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew test flight to the36
International Space Station; and the Sierra Space Dream Chaser, the37
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International Space Station. Both the Starliner and Dream Chaser will2
launch atop a United Launch Alliance rocket;3
(4) Express our most sincere and deepest appreciation to the men4
and women working in our military installations in Colorado; and5
(5) Hereby declare March 13, 2023, to be "Colorado Aerospace6
Day".7
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent8
to President Joseph Biden, Jr.; Vice President Kamala Harris; Speaker of9
the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy; House Minority Leader10
Hakeem Jeffries; Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer; Senate11
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; Senator John Hickenlooper; Senator12
Michael Bennet; Congresswoman Diana DeGette; Congressman Joe13
Neguse; Congresswoman Lauren Boebert; Congressman Ken Buck;14
Congressman Doug Lamborn; Congressman Jason Crow;15
Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen; Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo;16
Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator; Billy Nolen, Administrator, Federal17
Aviation Administration; Governor Jared Polis; Lieutenant Governor and18
Co-chair, Colorado Space Coalition, Dianne Primavera; Brigadier19
General Laura Clellan, Adjutant General of Colorado; General James20
Dickinson, Commander, U.S. Space Command; Colonel Marcus Jackson,21
Buckley Garrison Commander, Buckley Space Force Base; Dr.22
Christopher Scolese, Director, National Reconnaissance Office; Ross B.23
Garelick Bell, Executive Director, Aerospace States Association; Thomas24
E. Zelibor, Chief Executive Officer, Space Foundation; Alexandra Dukes,25
Section Chair, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Rocky26
Mountain Section; Dr. Ronald M. Sega, Co-chair, Colorado Space27
Coalition; Michael Gass, Co-chair, Colorado Space Coalition; Bob Cone,28
Chair, Colorado Space Business Roundtable; Christie Lee and Stacey29
DeFore, Co-Chairs, Colorado Citizens for Space Exploration; Jeff30
Kloska, Director, Colorado Air and Space Port; and Debbie Brown,31
President, Colorado Space Business Roundtable.32
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