SIERRA COUNTY, N.M. – Spaceport America has named New Mexico native Scott A. McLaughlin as its new executive director.

The company announced the appointment on Tuesday.

McLaughlin served as the director of business development at Spaceport America before being named interim executive director in July 2020.

He has worked at several government agencies including the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as in the private sector with tech and engineering companies.

After graduating from New Mexico State University with a degree in electrical engineering, McLaughlin moved to Colorado where he eventually established a radar design and manufacturing business.

He traveled the world installing, maintaining and marketing specialized wind radar systems.

McLaughlin’s innovative designs support space launch, test ranges, aviation operations, weather service networks, atmospheric research, pollution studies and shipboard wind measurements.

Spaceport America is a federally licensed launch complex situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico.