The intrigue, marvels, and mysteries of space will again be front and center Nov. 27-28 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston during the third annual SpaceCom 2018 Conference, Space Commerce Conference and Exposition.

Arturo Machuca, General Manager at Ellington Airport and Houston Spaceport, the nation’s tenth-licensed commercial spaceport, said he was very excited about the upcoming space conference. The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau is coordinating the event, and Houston Spaceport is a platinum sponsor, along with Houston Airports.

Machuca said that professionals from NASA, aerospace, commercial industries, government agencies, and investment companies come together for power-packed sessions and exhibits that delve into business opportunities, technology challenges and advancements, and other space-related activities occurring in light of an ongoing new international space race.

Attendees have access to forward-looking conference sessions, cutting-edge technology in an interactive exhibit hall, NASA presentations, and an Entrepreneur Summit – all capable of transforming minds and markets.

“The space conference is an event that started three years ago,” Machuca said. “It offers so much, and it also gives us the opportunity to promote Houston in a multifaceted manner that can showcase everything from the biomedical area to the energy sector to space to aviation, and much more. This is a conference created with the intention of bringing these disparate sectors together and having them interact with one another in meaningful ways.”

Conference attendees will be able to benefit from appearances, speeches, and exhibits by innovators and luminaries from the Silicon Valley, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Italian Space Agency, The White House’s National Space Council, and many others.

Mario Diaz, Director of Houston Airports, will welcome visitors to the City and the conference with opening remarks on the morning of Nov. 27.

“We’re really excited,” Machuca said. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to represent our City and for the Houston Spaceport to interact with potential tenants.

Prior to the official conference, the Global Spaceport Alliance will hold a meeting in which all of the U.S. Spaceports will be represented, as well as some international spaceports. Machuca will brief those attendees on industry developments and achievements.

Machuca said that SpaceCom 2018 is happy to help “quench those thirst” for many for whom space discovery and exploration remain sources of endless fascination and wonder.

He also shared the recent “good news” with regard to the Houston Spaceport. On Oct. 17, the Houston City Council approved an $18.8 million budget that allows for the construction of Phase 1 of the spaceport development. Machuca said that some design work is left but anticipates starting soon on building all of the roads to bring the utilities: water, sewer, electric power, gas. Phase 1 is estimated to be twelve months of construction, with January 2020 as the projected end date.

“Previously as we pushed and promoted our project,” he said, “we were only able to show a blank greenfield. Now we will be able to promote this area in a very different way – we will able to point it out and say ‘hey – here it is.’”

He also divulged that the Spaceport has been in talks with San Jacinto College, which has expressed the intention to be an integral part of the Phase 1 development. “San Jacinto College” Machuca said, “wants to have a presence at the Houston Spaceport; potentially taking over an existing facility and setting up their initial program there. They have talked about transitioning into the construction of a Center of Excellence on the property.”