SAN ANTONIO – Despite all of the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, San Antonio’s economy is continuing to grow. And, a vital part of this growth is Port San Antonio.
Port San Antonio has over 80 tenant customers who employ more than 14,000 people, generating over $5 billion in annual economic activity in the Alamo City.
Jim Perschbach, president and CEO of Port San Antonio, joined Leading SA Sunday to discuss what is on the horizon for Port San Antonio as we near the new year.
“What we’re doing is working with companies that are applying technologies into the existing industry. So we have the existing consumer technologies, so it’s really about platform integration and convergence,” Perschbach said. “The most important thing as we move into a world that’s going to be much more technological — we need to make sure that education becomes a lifelong process. With the Compass Rose Academy, which we’ve been very excited about, the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology programs there, it’s all about connecting people with both educational opportunities and those educational opportunities connecting jobs.”
There are multiple companies at Port San Antonio who are already looking toward the future, which may include San Antonio being selected as the next host for the U.S. Space Command headquarters. SA was one of six finalist cities that are being considered.
“It’s going to be how we master the space domain. And space is not about going up there in jumpsuits. Space is about capturing energy and beaming it wirelessly down to Earth. It’s about finding more resources available here on the planet. It’s about finding resources that are available on the moon or elsewhere,” Perschbach said. “...We’ve really already won, being one of six cities in the country, being considered for space command, which is the headquarters for all the services and their space functions, is just a tremendous recognition of what we do here.”
Perschbach said some may not understand how important the space domain truly is, but it’s essential when it comes to keeping our way of life safe and secure.
“It’s important because there are a lot of good things that we rely on in space or right here on communications. We’re going to move a lot of our power systems, a lot of our technology is going to be running through satellites up in space. And if you can control those satellites, a lot of good happens. But if somebody gets in there and does something wrong, a lot of it happens. So being able to protect our investment in the satellite constellations is going to be important not just for our national security, but for making sure that way of life here on Earth stays safe and secure,” Perschbach said.
You can watch the full interview with Perschbach in the video player above.
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