The State of Baja California is not only the cradle of the aerospace industry in Mexico, it is also a nest of talent that has successfully responded to the requirements of companies that demand engineers, graduates, and university technicians.
In the last 10 years, the aerospace sector in the State of Baja California, Mexico, has led the way thanks to its average annual growth of more than 20 percent, according to the Baja California Aerospace Cluster.
In Baja California, where the first company in the sector was established in 1966, the interests of academic institutions and companies in the aerospace sector have merged to offer qualified labor that meets international standards and has contributed to Mexico's position as the sixth largest supplier of aerospace parts to the United States, twelfth largest exporter and fifteenth largest producer worldwide.
Among the higher education institutions that offer the aerospace engineering career in Baja California is the Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Technology (FCITEC), Valle de Palmas Academic Unit of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. "Our aerospace engineering career was born out of a need for talent. Our elective program is involved in the triple helix: government, education, and industry, so it is a guarantee. In fact, we have had students from Querétaro, Guanajuato, Mexico City and from other countries as well. In addition, we always participate in international competitions, and we have contact with universities in the United States, Japan and New Zealand," says Antonio Gómez Roa, director of FCITEC of the UABC-Valle de las Palmas in Tijuana and president of the Space Rocketry Commission of the Baja Aerospace Cluster.
It is worth mentioning that this year, during the first Mexican Meeting of Experimental Rocketry Engineering (ENMICE), the UABC-Valle de las Palmas, through the FCITEC, reaffirmed its national leadership in propulsion, specifically in the field of rockets.
The mission in the ENMICE was to carry out the launch and get as close as possible to the apogee -the most distant point from the take-off surface- proposed by the participating team. The UABC team reached 1.54 kilometers in altitude and 22 more rockets were launched to achieve certification, achieving 14 level 1 certifications and two level 2 certifications.
Antonio Gómez Roa reports that since 2012 they have specialized in rocketry through a program in which they worked with San Jose State University, California, United States, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In addition, the educational program in Aerospace Engineering offered by FCITEC includes subjects focused on the design and construction of rockets, as well as educational satellites.
"We are pioneers in educational satellites and the Mexican Space Agency recognizes us. We have Tripoli Rocketry Association, Inc, Mexico, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and operation of amateur high-power rocketry, and we can certify Level 1, 2 and 3 rocketry skills. So, if I have this certification and I go to Tripoli New Zealand I can launch a rocket there without any problem, or in any of its 28 locations, it is an international certification."
Antonio Gómez Roa, director of FCITEC of the UABC-Valle de las Palmas in Tijuana
