Georgia Tech Receives NASA Grant To Develop Space Race Talent.

Last month, I wrote about how Georgia is well positioned to be at the center of a fast growing industry: space.

On August 21st, NASA announced that Georgia Tech is part of a grant meant to develop new talent for the areospace industry.

Georgia Tech was selected partly because of its relationships with technical colleges, high school programs and aerospace employers.

“When anyone thinks of NASA, you think of our exciting missions, and you often think about who does them and say, well, astronauts and rocket scientists. In reality, we really need people to build the hardware that we are using to go to the moon and to Mars and to explore the universe, and so we need welders, electricians, machinists and fabricators, and not enough students are going into those careers,” (NASA’s Elaine) Ho said.

This opportunity will be for students across the state, not just in Atlanta.

The program will also help pay for students’ courses if needed.

Georgia Tech officials said the program will offer courses leading to short-term certificates and associate degrees through partnerships involving Georgia Tech, the Technical College System of Georgia, Georgia Southern University and industry partners.

Stephen Ruffin, interim chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Aerospace Engineering, said the program will offer courses that are typically shorter than those required to earn a degree.

This is the kind of infastructure Georgia needs to compete with Texas, Louisiana (home to a new SpaceX spaceport), and Florida.