Ripple effect is being felt at Yuma airport

It didn't take long for the ripple effects from a new hangar at Yuma International Airport to be felt.

The recently constructed hangar in what has been called the defense contractor area was leased in October for use by NASA and the Jacobs Technology engineering company for work a new parachute system for the Orion space capsule.

It was officially dedicated at the first of the month and will play a "critical role" in the nation's future space efforts.

The impact of the hangar goes beyond outer space, however.

Only days before the dedication of the NASA hangar, it was announced that a contract had been awarded to the airport by the Department of Homeland Security to design a new facility for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.

The complex on the west side of the airport will be composed of two maintenance hangars for CBP aircraft and an administrative building. It will replace what was described as a cramped and outdated facility.

Although a lot of attention is focused on the ground patrol aspects of protecting the border, there is also a significant air component that observes activity along the border and provides support to agents on the ground.

The NASA facility apparently played a key role in the Homeland Security decision. Gen Grosse, airport corporate account manager, said it was the NASA hangar "that brought us to the attention of the Homeland Security officials in Washington, D.C."

She said the quality, speed with which it was built and its low cost impressed Homeland officials who had been looking at new hangar facilities for years.

Airport officials had predicted there would be a lot of interest in the defense contractors area and it appears they were right.