Speaker 1: Today's episode of the trib Cast is sponsored by Texas
State Technical College.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the trib Cast.
Speaker 1: I'm Eleanor Klibanoff, women's health reporter, joined by editor in
chief and co host Matthew Watkins.
Speaker 2: Hello, fresh off his spring.
Speaker 3: Break trip, that's right.
Speaker 1: I have budgeted ten to fifteen minutes for your review
of Lego Land, So thoughts, I want.
Speaker 4: To go big picture first, because we were in Lego
Land in San Diego and then we went up to.
Speaker 3: The Bay Area for a few days too.
Speaker 4: And you know, as a Texan, it is my duty
and responsibility to view California as a failed state, a wasteland.
Speaker 3: But damn it, it's beautiful. Were there.
Speaker 2: Wait, you're telling me that's.
Speaker 3: Really beautiful, really pretty.
Speaker 1: The suburbs of Dallas and the Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've visited to National Park sites, Mirror Woods and Alcatraz.
Happy to report that things seemed fully under control. There's
been a lot of talk about like parks, people losing
their jobs and everything. The the trash cans were still
being empty, that the everything was working there, Prisoners were
still no prisoners there anymore. There was a very there
was a at the end of the Alcatraz tour, there
was this big mass incarceration exhibit in which the sort
of thesis was like, the US imprisons way more people
than it should and this is a problem and it
and it's it's disroportionately affecting black and Hispanic people and
everything like that. I did wonder, like how long that
will still be there?
Speaker 2: My face, Some exhibits out over time, but I will.
Speaker 4: Say just overall, Yeah, you know California. I actually talk
to a lot of people uber drivers and waiters and
such in there who when they learned from Austin, they
were like, all my friends are moving there.
Speaker 3: So that did check out, but it is still very pretty.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't get the sense people are leaving California because
it's horrible to look at. Yeah, because again they probably
would not be moving to the you know, areas where
they are.
Speaker 3: But yeah, Austin too, Austin.
Speaker 2: Every part of Texas has its charms.
Speaker 1: Well, we are very excited to have you back and
extremely excited for this week's episode. This is a topic
we've been looking forward to discussing for a while on
the trim cast, where we are going to travel to
a galaxy far far away and discuss the space industry
in Texas.
Speaker 2: Today is Space Day at the Texas Legislature.
Speaker 1: As Glenn has informed us, We're going to talk about
the modern space race, you know, why so much of
this activity is centered in Texas, what the aeronautics industry
wants from the legislature this session, and to walk us
through all of this. We're joined by Glenn Hammer, the
President and CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
Speaker 2: Glenn, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 5: Great to be on.
Speaker 2: Glad to have you. Matthew, you also have a space
related day.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, I was just saying that it's also opening
day this week for the Astros, you know, famed sports team.
I was tried to find my plastic Astros space helmet
to wear, but it's somewhere in the attic or something.
Speaker 3: You can't find it.
Speaker 2: Well, we do like costumes on this podcast as much
as possible.
Speaker 1: I appreciate the effort, you know, Before we get into
the space thing, I do have to ask you.
Speaker 2: Glenn.
Speaker 1: Your bio on the Texas Association of Business website says
you've made it your mission to visit more local chambers
of commerce than anyone else on the planet and I
have to know how many you've been.
Speaker 6: To God at this point in the four years I've
been here, I've got imagine it's it's over one hundred
across the state and easily over that number one you
count all the chambers that come to Austin during the
legislative session and then we host at at our office.
But now my new mission, given that this is space Day,
will be the first Chamber executive to visit Marsh.
Speaker 3: Amazing that Mars have a Chamber of Commerce yet.
Speaker 6: Not yet, although a friend of mine who runs the
Texas Venture Alliance, she's set up the Mars Venture Alliance.
That's CS Freeland, which is a really cool shirt. So
we're going to set up a chamber and a venture
group in Mars as soon as we.
Speaker 5: Can get there.
Speaker 1: Something tells me if Texas is involved, like step one,
you know, live, let's establish life can live there.
Speaker 2: Step two, chamber of Commerce.
Speaker 5: I think that's about the right order.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's our order.
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, well, you know, before we get into the
modern space race. You know, Texas has played such a
huge role in the history of space exploration in the
United States. I am am as I received in angry
emails all the time.
Speaker 2: I'm not a native Texan, but you know, I think.
Speaker 3: Those are from me, from Matthew.
Speaker 1: It's my performance review every year. But no, I think
like even for people who are not from Texas, like
there is this association with Texas and Space Houston.
Speaker 2: We have a problem. Of course, somewhat famously.
Speaker 4: Not allowed as a lead in texts tribute stories for
the record.
Speaker 1: Yet Matthew's reign has been bumpy so far as editor
in chief. You know, in nineteen sixty two, when John F.
Kennedy announced that the US would try to go to
the moon, he addressed the nation from Rice University and said,
we choose to go to the moon in this decade
and do the other things not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
Speaker 3: He said, why go to the moon? Why does Rice
play Texas and football? That was his famous line.
Speaker 2: Why does Rice play Texas? Oh, play Texas and football?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Because it's hard, Because it's hard.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 5: It's a great line.
Speaker 1: Flash forward to today, Governor Greg It a little bit
less pithy but still good, has said Texas is the
launchpad for Mars, innovating the technology that will colonize humanity's
first new planet.
Speaker 3: Good big.
Speaker 4: It's incacurring to me too that we no longer go
to the moon and Rice no longer plays Texas and football,
so maybe there's a connection there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a new era for both. Yeah, I mean,
this is a huge economy, Glenn. They're estimated it will
be by some estimates, one trillion dollar industry by twenty forty.
Speaker 2: Talks about space in Texas.
Speaker 6: Well, you you mentioned just the rich history with President
Kennedy and then and then President Johnson obviously you know,
one of the all time Hall of Fame Texas political leader.
So we've had that rich history. You know, Texas is
a frontier state, and if you think about it, you
said galaxy far, far and away, that might identify you
as a Star Wars fan. The next frontier, the final frontier,
is space. And right now we're at this moment where
I would argue AI and some of the other technological
developments are making some really bold human aspirations possible. And
what's also happened is NASA obviously has a very storied,
impressive history, but the private sector now has jumped in
and that's obviously SpaceX, but it's beyond SpaceX. You have Firefly,
you have Blue Origin, you have Axiom, you have a
number of different companies that are that are doing things
that maybe thirty or forty years ago we would have
just sort of assumed that the federal government would do
with some help from contractors. But now these are true
public private partnerships, and I would argue as a result,
the space economy is flourishing and as you said, is
projected a hit a trillion dollars and.
Speaker 1: Texas, I mean it's playing a huge, like front row
role in this well.
Speaker 6: And we also discussed, you know, the fact that we
have the you know, so this is part of my spiel.
You know, we've added more jobs in any other state,
so we've got the best economy in the country. But
now we're a two point five trillion dollar economy and
by the end of the year we'll probably pass France
and be in the G seven, so arguably the strongest
economy in the world. But now that SpaceX is headquartered
in the state of Texas, we can say we have
the strongest economy in the galaxy and because of that,
or you.
Speaker 5: Can well I can't. I'm going to say it until
I'm checked on that.
Speaker 2: No one else other things not going in leads in
the Texas.
Speaker 6: There have been no Martians that have correct a challenge.
But because of that, we have a twenty three twenty
four billion dollar surplus and it allows us to invest
in key things. And we're investing in infrastructure and water
and electricity and teleg and broadband and stuff like that.
But we're also able to do massive investments in semiconductors
and space. And I want to give a Chairman Bonda
a ton of credit and Chairwoman Huffman for their vision
and really pushing the state with Governor Abbott to allocate
three hundred and fifty million dollars for the Texas Space Commission,
which you now Norman Garza is running expertly, and we
have something like two billion dollars worth of pent up
potential commercial projects as a result.
Speaker 5: Of that effort.
Speaker 6: So Texas is clearly leading in space and I don't
believe any other state is even coming close to us
in terms of investing state resources in this sector.
Speaker 4: Can you give us just a quick kind of audio
tour of the space industry in Texas, Like, what are
we talking about when we say that that it's growing
and popping up here?
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 6: So, I mean you have to start with with SpaceX.
I mean the fact that you have eighty five percent
of I believe the commercial tonnage that winds up in
space is coming from a SpaceX vehicle. I mean we're
talking globally. I mean SpaceX is it's it's the eight
hundred pound times ten Gorilla.
Speaker 4: Owned by Elon Musk and launching in South Texas, launching
in rockets in South.
Speaker 6: And South Texas, and and I think also in Florida,
but South Texas being being the center and building these
incredible engines, and Gregor Texas and then the you know Starlink,
which is part of SpaceX, ramping up production in bass Drop.
So it's really been benefiting you know, a big, big
parts of of the state. But then you have you know, great,
great companies like Firefly that you know, became the first
commercial company to land on on the moon right here
in Texas as well. And I would say it's you know,
it's it's it's a result of the history of Texas
with you know, you mentioned the Astros. I was born
in the Bronx, so you can there may be a
little bit of bad feelings here.
Speaker 2: You talk about the rockets, you know.
Speaker 6: But Houston has been has been space town. So you
do have this rich history of all sorts of different
space companies being located in Houston and across Texas. And
I also say on the education side, I mean, take
a look at what Texas A and M is doing
as well on space, setting up its own space center
which is run by a former astronaut, and I believe
maybe being one of the first, if not the first
universities to offer some sort of space engineering degree.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I saw it's called.
Speaker 1: Like extraterrestrial engineering, and I was like, that is absolutely
the kind of class I would have signed up for
as a freshman, just thinking like.
Speaker 2: That sounds cool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then realize and then you're like, this was
a mistique.
Speaker 6: So what have I if I didn't stop my math
and science learning in high school?
Speaker 2: Yes, big same Yeah.
Speaker 6: But so you know, you have the academic institutions and
of course Rice University as well, you have the history,
You have these private sector companies all over this date
that are getting involved in space, and then I think
you just have the business community understanding and rallying behind
this vision. And I'll also say you have other companies like
Boeing that are very active here. They've been investing in
a major air mobility company that to me feels like
what the Jetsons were all about.
Speaker 1: A lot of this feels like that. Yeah, right, Like
you're talking about the future in so many ways.
Speaker 6: And I'll also say another really important point and an
exciting part for the state is you have our junior senator,
Senator Ted Cruz, who now chairs the Senate Commerce and
Science Committee.
Speaker 5: Why is that important?
Speaker 6: Well, that committee is jurisdiction over forty percent of the economy,
including space, including semiconductors, including AI, and he is very
active in making sure that the interests of Texas are
respected in DC. And I think he's also sees the
incredible potential economically for the state if if Texas leads
in space.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's interesting that the kind of history of Texas
being a leader in space going back decades. A lot
of that is due to the power that Texas politicians
had back in the middle of the century. You know,
you're talking about your Sam ray Burns, your LBJs and
things like that. Interesting to see Ted Kruz now starting.
Speaker 2: Into those shoes.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and you know with Cruise and I should have
said just to because you asked a great question. You know,
right now, the space industry is about eleven billion in
annual GDP for Texas, and if you include the broader
aerospace ecosystem, it's about one hundred and thirty five thousand jobs.
So it's a lot of it's it's it's a lot
of jobs. But you know I wanted to say also
about Center Cruz is is that he has been working
across the aisle on some important efforts that are connected
to space, like, for example, on semiconductors to make easier
to actually cite these plants. He worked across the aisle
with Senator Mark Kelly, an astronaut and a US Senator
from Arizona.
Speaker 5: To achieve that.
Speaker 6: So on these economic areas, Center Cruz has been doing
a very good job working across the aisle because at
the end of the day, and it's still the case,
to get most things through the US Senate, you need
sixty votes, which means you need bipartisan support.
Speaker 1: Well, and I mean speaking of bipartisan support, I mean
last session a little closer to home here in Texas,
the legislature passed a pretty big space bill with like
almost unheard of scale of support from both parties. I
mean really almost unanimous agreement on this, which is shocking
these days. Talk a little bit about it was HB
thirty four to forty seven, you know, a big, a
big bill for creating the Space Commission, among other things.
Speaker 6: Well, three hundred and fifty million dollars over two years.
And as I was saying, I mean, there's been at
least two billion dollars worth of commercial interests, So meaning
there it's they're just simply not able to fund all
the projects and probably all the worthwhile uh efforts. And
you know, and and I and I think what that
goes to show is that and you know, for any chamber,
we like public private partnerships. You know, it's it's useful
when the when the government is is leveraging its resources
with private sector. It's not just giving a grant and
saying we hope for the best. It's it's basically asking
that private sector company to make you know, massive contributions.
But but one of the things I did want to
reach on that, I think as we look forward to
making sure the Texas leads in space, yes, we have
to make sure that the Texas Space Commission has resources
and perhaps more resources, but we also need to make
sure that other UH state initiatives are aligned. For example,
UH this session, we're pushing very hard to make sure
that an R and D tax credit that's been around
in Texas for a while but would expire at the
end of next year is extended because we need to
make sure that for these companies that are innovating, they
have we have a competitive policy ecosystem in the state
of Texas. We're also supporting different initiatives that would match
federal SBA funding for smaller entrepreneurial companies that are investing
in technology. So you know, we're taking a holistic approach
at the Texas Association of Business to make sure that
we have a policy environment that will will put the
state on top in space.
Speaker 5: But it's it is, it's a variety of different factors.
Speaker 1: Right, I mean, you talked about this a little bit
with the universities, but also like what do we need
in terms of workforce for space.
Speaker 6: Well, that's a very important question because it's very important
that our Tier one universities and you know, by some metrics,
we have more Tier one research universities than any other
state and I'll just say what's going on at U T, Austin, Texas,
A and M and the engineering side is sensational. I
don't think there's a better one to two punch on
public schools in the country than those two schools in
terms of the equality of engineers that they're supplying. But
we also need to make sure that our community colleges
are producing the workers to handle a lot of the
skilled trades necessary for the space economy, and that includes
things like.
Speaker 5: Machinists and.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 6: In fact, what was interesting when the federal CHIPS bill
was signed, the big press conference of Texas leaders who
who had pushed for that Senator Cornyn and Chairman Mike
McCall was held at Austin Community College. So one of
the things we're going to also push for is a
continuation of HB eight, that was the community college effort
to put another six hundred and fifty million dollars of
new funding into our community colleges for credentials of value.
And I'm going to even go one step beyond that
is making sure that dual enrollment in high schools, that
our high schools are really geared towards these professions, where
if kids get into them, students get into them. They
could earn fifty sixty seventy thousand right after graduating from
high school with the right educational set of courses in
high school.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's amazing.
Speaker 1: I mean it's like really not like you can't just
put money in space and say like that's going to
be enough.
Speaker 6: Absolutely, I mean you have to have I think the
community college effort, the career and technical education programs and
a lot of the Texas high schools are very important.
And then to make sure that students understand these great
options that are out there. And I'm going to point
out my friend, one of another great Texan, Roy Spence.
He's the guy that came up with don't mess with Texas.
By the way, when I came outside of Texas, that
to me met something else I had no idea was
a littering campaign.
Speaker 5: Oh yes, yeah.
Speaker 6: But he's also done great work for Whole Foods and
Southwest Airlines, great Texas companies. But Roy's point is that,
and he's started something called the make It Movement, is
that you have a lot of students in junior high
school and high school that don't really know all of
these great options that are in front of them if
they could get the right technical education. So that's a
program that's been getting a lot of support and it's
something we support because we want students in our junior
and Texas high schools to understand, you get the right skills,
you're going to have opportunities in these emerging areas like space.
Speaker 2: Right. Great, well, it's actually very good timing.
Speaker 1: We're gonna take a quick break and thank our sponsor,
Texas State Technical College. At Texas State Technical College, we
don't just train students, we provide Texas with the next
generation of skilled workers. T TSTC Better for Texas. Learn
more at TSTC dot ed U.
Speaker 2: Uh good timing.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 5: That was expanse of TSTC as well.
Speaker 1: You know, we can't really talk about space, and we've
already sort of touched on this a little bit, but
without talking.
Speaker 2: About the man of the moment.
Speaker 1: Elon Musk Glenn, I know you've been down in the
valley some talking with the leaders, and you know Brownsville
being a real center point. They're calling it the gateway
to Mars. You know, what are you hearing from business
leaders and folks in the valley about SpaceX.
Speaker 6: Oh, my god, incredible excitement. I was just in uh
uh Monterey, Mexico at a big tech event UH that
was in part hosted by Tech to Monterey, great great
school that produces a lot of great engineers and is
deepening ties with Texas universities. And I spent a lot
of time with Mayor Cowen, the great mayor of Brownsville.
Speaker 5: UH.
Speaker 6: The two things that are transforming Brownsville in South Texas, UH,
SpaceX and the space economy and uh LNG liquified natural
gas and what's going going on in SpaceX is just inspiring.
If you think about if you're a young person in
that area and you see what's going on, it's very exciting.
And it's also apparently having a huge impact positive on
the tourism economy that these launches now are becoming musty events.
So an incredible excitement in Brownsville and South Texas. And yes,
Brownsville now bills itself as the gateway to Mars.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4: It's interesting to think about Musk's role in this. You know,
he's obviously getting a lot of attention right now with
his relationship with the federal government and everything like that,
but it is, of course true that SpaceX was a
massive government contractor before the Trump administration ever came into office.
I wrote down three point eight billion dollars in federal
contracts last year. Right, you know, they're talk Starlink, which
you mentioned earlier, being a major kind of government contractor
not just with the US government but with other governments.
Even conversations about how like Musk satellites might be able
to provide broadband access, high speed internet access to folks.
But of course we are now in a place where
any kind of contract that Elon Musk gets with the
federal government is going to get a lot of scrutiny
and attention.
Speaker 3: Do you worry at all about the.
Speaker 4: Because of who Elon Musk is and you know, to
a lesser extent, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin, But still
to a certain extent there about this topic becoming more
politicized than it used to be. You know, given what
we just talked about with you know, a bill passing
essentially unanimously last legislative session.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I don't think it's going to impact that at all,
because what's going on with space X and the space
economy is strongly bipartisan, and the jobs are being created
by SpaceX, Starlink and a number of the other Musk companies.
They're benefiting all Texans, regardless of their political affiliation. And
you know, and I and and I think that you know,
you take a look, you know, let's look at the
you know, last week or so, when you know, it
was terrific a SpaceX vehicle really rescued two astronauts, uh
that were in space for a lot longer than they
had anticipated. That's that's a good thing. And you know,
my my hope is that we can focus on the
overall interests of Texans and Americans and understanding we are
in a certainly a polarized time and and people's passions
could get hot on different things. But let's try to separate,
you know, uh, activities that produce great, high paying jobs
for Texans and on things that Texas country in the
world really needs. I mean, space X is easily, you know,
obviously right now the world's most important company when it
comes to space.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 6: It should be celebrated and supported by all Texans, regardless
of political ideology.
Speaker 1: Matthew, I think and you know, to your point, I
do think we're hearing more, you know, Elon Musk was
already such a you know, business leader. These these companies
were already like so on their way to doing all
of this stuff. And also Elon Musk almost separate from
Elon Musk the Space explorer, you have Elon Musk, the
character who is becoming, you know, increasingly visible on the
public stage.
Speaker 2: And it, you know, it is interesting.
Speaker 1: I think it will be interesting to see how that
you know, right now, Like you know, over the weekend
there's some reports with the New York Times about all
the federal contracts and start at Elon Musk sort of
stands to see for his companies based on his increased role,
and it's like, you know, as we start to see
which will win out kind of Elon Musk the political character,
Elon Musk the space leader.
Speaker 6: If I could just say, but if you look at
these different products, I mean Tesla, which is now the
most valuable American auto brand, it is an incredibly elegant vehicle.
You think about Starlink providing access to the Internet for
people all over the world that otherwise simply wouldn't have
it again regardless of their political ideologies. Neurallink, where it's
giving hope to paralyzed people all across the world. And
then of course a space ax both from commercial all
these different satellites, but also on a military basis. I mean,
controlling space is going to be very important for the
US to remain the world's top superpower. So I think
on some of these things, and the boring company, you know,
is pretty interesting. Who likes getting stuck in traffic? So
all these different companies, regardless of what may be going
on with DOGE or whatnot, I think, without any sort
of argument, are advancing the quality of life and humanity
issues that we all benefit from.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's no question right that Elon Musk.
Speaker 4: I mean, he created Tesla, he created SpaceX, He created
a lot of these companies with like, you know, the
future of humanity in mind. Right, it is also true
that he is you know, a testing the boundaries or
maybe going way past the boundaries of the relationship between
private enterprise and government and everything like that. It's going
to be hard, I think for folks to separate in
the coming years. Why is he getting this contract because
SpaceX is this you know, international you know, leader in
some of these technologies, or is he getting this contract
with because of his relationship with Donald Trump and everything.
I think that will be something that we will have
to watch, and I would expect will be a lot
of debate and conversation over between between now and you know,
twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 1: Right, like the cleaner way, right is like, don't get
involved in politics, just keep doing your businesses. I think
that's increasingly like a myth friend, you know, it's like
everything is, but yes, everything's political.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean things are certainly political today. But I
think you know, you take a look at Elon Musk
and say, a lot of the guys sort of connected
some way to the PayPal mafia. David Sachs all in podcasts,
which I'll admit I listen to religiously. I think it's
it's it's it's really a lot of good information, a
lot of long form interviews, and you have these individuals
involved in government. In my opinion, even if I disagree
with some of the things that we you know, we
want to talk about tariffs that might be one. This
is an incredible concentration of people that know how to
run businesses, no balance sheets, and they look at the
thirty six trillion dollar debt in the United States two
trillion dollar annual deafiest and say it has to be stopped,
and are trying to figure out creative ways to cut money,
to cut waste as well as to raise revenue. You know, basically,
raise a trillion and cut a trillion and there you
solve the the annual deficit. Easier said than done. But
I'm going to give the administration kudos for trying. It
needs to be tried, in my opinion, because the debt
and the interest payments are crowding out very important social
and other types suspending. So you know, it's it's it's
a tough assignment. And obviously it's not necessarily being you know, bull,
and it could be a bull in a china shop.
Speaker 1: Of course, it's going to start pushback and yeah, at
least so far as several legal challenges, but you know,
it's a you know, you try. I mean this bold
action and sort of bold action that sometimes raises eyebrows.
I mean also brought to NASA, the you know, Trump's
nominee or President Trump's nominee to NASA, Jared Jared Isaacman,
you know, is a real his contracts worth tens of
millions of dollars with SpaceX. He's twice traveled on SpaceX spacecraft,
but he has said, you know, basically.
Speaker 2: With this is a this is a post on X.
Speaker 1: With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this,
we will never again lose our ability to journey to
the stars and never settle for second place. We will
inspire children yours and mind to look up and dream
of what is possible and talk about wanting to go
to the moon, return to the moon, go to Mars.
You know, that sort of federal momentum around space must
feel pretty exciting for for you and for Texas.
Speaker 6: Absolutely, and there's no I mean, and you think you
go back. I mean, obviously President Kennedy, I'm sure I
was in alive then and President Trump have different styles,
but it's bold. And you know, for President Trump, I
believe to be the first president to say we're going
to go to Mars. That's that's that's a big deal,
and that that to me, is is an inspired activity
that will require all Americans to get behind Republicans and
Democrats and independents to achieve.
Speaker 1: And we should say, you know, the Tribune has done
some reporting on this, you know, going sort of circling
us back to Brownsville and the Rio Grand Valle. You know,
not everyone has been happy with SpaceX. You know, we've
there's been a lot of local pushbacks, some lawsuits, some
regulatory action over environmental damage and the company's encroachment on
public beaches and land. The FAA and TCQ have investigated
and cited the company at different times for violations. I mean,
what are these companies sort of obligations to Texas and
to like be good neighbors and good stewards of the state.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think SpaceX has been an excellent neighbor and steward.
And you're always like, I've been around this long enough.
I mean I've if you'll live next to an airport,
people get upset.
Speaker 5: So that's that.
Speaker 6: Comes with the territory. And we will live in a
democracy and people have the right to voice their opinions.
But when you have the mayor brown Phil and the
leadership of the entire city really unifying behind Brownsville is
a gateway to March, you get a pretty good sense
where the vast majority of the public is when it
comes to SpaceX. So, you know, every company should be
a good corporate citizen. But I would argue that SpaceX
is in an outstanding one given all the great jobs
that they provide, not just in their company, but the
surrounding ecosystem. Ask the hotels, the restaurants, the bars how
they feel about SpaceX, and I think you would say
they would say thank you, Elon Musk.
Speaker 1: And really interesting that there's now this push to make
its own city within Cameron County, which is so interesting.
I mean really like take you know, to the residents
of star Base, you know, wanting to sort of carve
out a city. It's like very back to the days
of like the company town Hehy Pennsylvania, you know, lo itt.
Speaker 6: Town in a way, and for the record, I love Hershey,
Pennsylvania Alcoholics.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's one of my favorite players.
Speaker 1: Were soon we're gonna we'll get an amusement park for
star Base and you won't have to.
Speaker 2: Go to California anymore.
Speaker 4: Matthew, that's I did visit the gear Delli factory and okay, yes, so.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really I mean, there are in many ways
like sort of taking you know, like you said, bold
steps that are you know, it probably takes a long
time to see like what the long term impacts are,
but certainly right now, Texas seems to be like on
that in the mix on all all this hot stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 4: My question for you is why space, right Like, there's
a lot of different things that the state could be
investing in. What what makes space such a a desirable
thing to be doing?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 5: It's a great I think it's a great question.
Speaker 6: And and for Texas to continue to be the top
economy out there, it is important that we invest and
focus on those industries where we expect growth and spectacular growth.
Speaker 5: Space is at the top of the list.
Speaker 6: I'd put aiuh right right there as well, semiconductors. So
you know, the way I would answer that is that
we have these uh focus. We we have focused in
a bipartisan way in Texas on these industries that provide
a lot of jobs to Texas today and have the
potential to provide a lot more tomorrow. I'll put energy
in there as well. I mean, you take a look
at what's going on in say the bipartisan support that's
coming together for small module or reactors and nuclear and
Texas tackles the big stuff, you know. I mean, this
is this is if you're if you're shy in economic development,
this probably isn't the state for you. If you if
you think bold and bigger, Texas is a state for you.
Speaker 5: And and you know, I'm going to give.
Speaker 6: Governor Abbott, Audrina Cruz and all the economic development corps
across the state of Texas a ton of credit. They
have different politics, I can tell you the economic development
corporations and the chambers, and yet somehow Texans figure out
how to unify around these major industries. And again when
I do talk before, more chambers than I think anyone
else in the country. People care about space, they care
about AI, they care about energy, and they care about workforce.
And you know, we've been able to focus on these
sort of industries of tomorrow I think to help unify
the state's economic development and chamber community around constructive proposals
at the state legislature.
Speaker 5: At least that's what we've tried.
Speaker 1: Yeah, right, I mean, I feel like my final question
is how long would there have to be people living
on Mars before you would go to Mars yourself? And
I feel like your answer as well, like how early
of an adopter are you each? As individuals?
Speaker 6: Like I would go there. I would get on the
first possible a bowl vessel I could to get over there, Yeah,
I would. Now I have to navigate my family, which
is not as perhaps supportive of of my of my goal.
Speaker 2: But let's say you were allowed to return. You know,
it's area.
Speaker 6: You'd go at this point of my life, as I'm
getting up there a little bit.
Speaker 5: Sure.
Speaker 4: I I saw, you know how the astronauts who SpaceX
helped bring home last week, you know, had to be
like carried away in streatchers and it looked a little rough.
Speaker 3: Seemed tough. It seems a little desolate up there.
Speaker 4: I'll stick with my California trips, although I did like
how that they had that that like group of dolphins
swimming around them and afterwards that was pretty cool.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I'm not I'm not an early adopter. I'm
not a pioneer, you know, but I it does excite me.
But uh yeah, I think I would need like a
whole generation of people living there, so I'm probably not
gonna make it.
Speaker 6: And to tie it all back to one of the
most inspiring talks I heard ever at south By Southwest
was a year or so ago, where William Shatner was
talking about his journey to space on I believe a
blue Origin vehicle, and you know, I just think it's
it's part of the human condition to just have that
desire to see what's out there. And I completely respect respect,
and it's it's possible that I would chicken out, as
as anyone who's anyone who's flown with me knows, I
get very nervous and turbulence, so domestic I can't, but
I do hope in my lifetime that I have the
opportunity to go to Mars.
Speaker 2: Amazing.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you for coming to a much less uh
fancy location in joining us on the trib Cast.
Speaker 2: That's it for today.
Speaker 1: You can find all episodes of the trip Cast on
YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to like, subscribe,
and share the podcast on all of your platforms. If
you'd like to get in touch with the team, you
can reach us at Tribcast at Texastribune dot org. Thank
you to our sponsor, Texas State Technical College. Our producers
are Robovula and Chris Sphobada. Our theme music is composed
by Rob and we will see you next week.