Destined to become an aerospace mecca.
Colorado's aerospace industry was destined to grow because of its location. The state's central vicinity in the U.S. made it less vulnerable to enemy attack.
Also important was the military's ability to bounce shortwave radio signals to both its Asian and European operations from Colorado bases.
During World War II, Colorado's Lowry and Peterson Army air bases developed competencies in photographic intelligence. These photoreconnaissance capabilities were later transferred to space applications to monitor and manage surveillance and communication satellites.
And in 1955, the Glenn L. Martin Company (now Lockheed Martin Space Systems) established a plant in Waterton Canyon southwest Denver to build the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile. The site was considered a highly strategic central-U.S. location.
Peterson Field, located in Colorado Springs, would evolve over the next several decades as a hub of Air Force space activities and the location of four military commands. Air Force presence stimulated development of a space industry and related research at Colorado universities.
For more than 60 years, the combination of Air Force presence, open space, high altitude, space-related science, and community boosterism made Colorado "a mile closer to space," and formed the second-largest space economy in the nation with 171,250 space-related jobs.
