Rick Homans is leaving his position as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority to take a job in the private sector.
The announcement comes two months after Homans left his job as secretary of the Economic Development Department to oversee construction of Spaceport America. Homans said the newest change was unexpected, but said he was presented with a unique opportunity that will be good for him and the state.
The company Homans is joining, he said, focuses on environmental technology and has decided to base its
The new job starts Aug. 1, and Homans said the company will make a “significant announcement” later this month that will make the reasons for his decision clear. In the meantime, he said, he can’t release further details.
The change comes as state officials are working to finalize several aspects of spaceport approval, funding and design before construction begins early next year. When Homans took the spaceport job in May, many backers of the project were excited because he has been intimately involved in every step of its development.
“The timing isn’t perfect, but there are some things you can control and some things you can’t control,” Homans said. “When I’m able to talk more about what I’m doing, people will see it was clearly an opportunity I could not pass up.”
Even after he starts his new job, Homans has offered to volunteer his time, in an official or unofficial capacity, to help the spaceport secure approval of a license from the Federal Aviation Administration, push for tax increases in Sierra and Otero counties to help fund the project, and see construction begin. That could include an appointment to the board of the spaceport authority.
“I am willing to assume the responsibility and the time and energy that it takes, and my employer is supportive, too,” Homans said.
When he took the job, Homans said he considered himself a temporary director who would oversee construction, then step aside to let someone with more technical expertise take over the job. He wrote in a letter to spaceport authority board members that Deputy Economic Development Secretary Kelly O’Donnell was already beginning such a search, and will now “look for ways to speed up the intensity and speed of the results.”
Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley, one of the most vocal supporters of the spaceport, said he was sorry to see Homans go.
“He’s done an amazing job of bringing all of the elements together to make the spaceport successful,” McCamley said. “I wish him the best and I’m sure that the state will find an able replacement.”
John Hummer, a
“Knowing his commitment to the venture, I’m sure that he will provide some very good transition for whoever obtains that position,” Hummer said.
Homans said the spaceport has a “solid” management team in place and he isn’t worried about the project’s future.
“Things are in good shape. In a big project like this there’s always going to be areas of uncertainty and challenge but I think, fundamentally, the project is in good shape and it’s not going to be set back at all,” Homans said.
Update, 5:25 p.m.
Gov. Bill Richardson released this statement:
“Rick Homans’ bold ideas, work ethic and personal integrity will be an asset in his new career,” he said. “I am confident that the state will continue to benefit from Rick’s commitment to move