Ugalde: Brownsville can be HQ for a United Nations of Spanish-speaking space-faring countries

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – There is no reason why Brownsville cannot become the hub for nine Spanish-speaking countries that have signed NASA’s Artemis Accords. 

This is the personal view of Walt Ugalde, economic development lead for NASA Johnson Space Center’s T2X/T2U program.

NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State and seven other initial signatory nations, established the Artemis Accords in 2020. Since then, 48 countries have signed on. The accord provides a common set of principles to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space.

According to NASA’s website, the Artemis Accords reinforces “the commitment by signatory nations to the Outer Space Treaty, the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior for civil space exploration and use.”

The nine Spanish speaking countries to sign on to the Artemis Accords are: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominion Republican, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Uruguay. Portuguese-speaking Brazil also joined.

Ugalde gave his views at a recent “Insights Unplugged” event co-hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, and the UT-Rio Grande Valley Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center. 

Speaking about NASA’s commitment to international cooperation, Ugalde said: 

“This is one that I’m excited (about) and I have my grand idea for this group (GBIC/BCIC/UTRGV). And this is not a NASA thing. This is a Walt thing, right, who is just this marketing guy (who had this) non-NASA kind of background before coming to NASA. 

“So, we have the Artemis Accords, and it’s all the different countries that have signed on to these Accords, that agreed to work with us (NASA) to go to the moon and to Mars. So, not only do we have government space flight, we’ve got commercial space flight, we’ve got international components. There are seven countries on the Artemis accords from South and Latin America that are part of this moon thing. 

“And if you think about what Elon (Musk) is building for us, which is the starship, HLS, human landing system, which will be our Artemis 3 launch, they’re going to need payloads. 

“These international partners are going to be there. And the common core language of these countries is Spanish. If I throw the noodle against wall, it’s like, why don’t I make a United Nations of Spanish-speaking space-faring countries, right here in Brownsville? We build this infrastructure. Then, when we’re doing these fam (familiarization) tours and having these adjacent markets with these businesses coming in, you are leveraging an asset.

“So, the international piece is a big piece, and I think there is a play for this region to make. Two years ago, I coined the term the South Texas Economic Diamond and I pitch that as I go around (South Texas). And I think the folks at Greater San Antonio kind of grabbed it and started running with it. But part of that was understanding what the infrastructure is here, the human capital components, and then finding a way to leverage that.

“And then I would say, also just peer to peer, businesspeople working together, talking trying to find opportunities. Understand that, yes, you can be in competition with each other, either businesses here or the different regions, but it needs to be or come in the form of what I call competitive cooperation, right? So, if we all kind of work together, we can have our own little niches and sectors. But if we all work together, we all eat, right? And so, from that standpoint, I think those are where the partnering components come in. And I think our business model will certainly pivot even more to that.”

As for the T2X program, Ugalde explained its relevance to South Texas. He said Expanding Frontiers, a Brownsville nonprofit set up by entrepreneur, researcher and educator Rick Jenet, is part of T2X. Expanding Frontiers’ mission is to foster the growth of a commercial space ecosystem.

“NASA’s T2X program provides direct access to technology, expertise, and resources that can enhance and enable South Texas’s innovation and economic development strategic objectives,” Ugalde said. “We continue to see significant potential for new companies launched via NASA commercialized technologies. Programs such as NASA T2X, along with others within NASA’s early-stage innovation portfolio of programs, are available to the industry and academic organizations within the Greater RGV region.”

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