Meet the SpaceValley Foundation’s new director of space tourism, Sheli Hinds Armstrong

Santa Fe native Sheli Hinds Armstrong never thought she’d end up in the space industry. Now she’s the first-ever director of space tourism for the SpaceValley Foundation.

Her mission? To create access and experiences in the space industry for anyone, right here in New Mexico.

“You don’t have to have a rocket or a ticket to be able to have these wonderful space-bound experiences,” Hinds Armstrong said in an interview.

It’s reflective of the broader mission of SpaceValley Foundation, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit working to make the Rio Grande corridor from southern New Mexico to southern Colorado a frontier for space knowledge, research and exploration.

That brand could go even further than how people typically think of the space industry, said SpaceValley Foundation Executive Director Bryce Kennedy. He said people have come to him saying they want to be the first space valley realtor or first space valley lawyer.

“They’re curious to see how this will succeed,” Kennedy said.

Hinds Armstrong has a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, including having worked with Marriott hotels in Arizona and California and several Ritz-Carlton properties. She also owns Destination Southwest, a destination management and tour operation company.

Now she’s ready to leverage her local, national and international connections to draw space tourism to the Land of Enchantment.

“Tourism is such a big part of what New Mexico is all about,” Hinds Armstrong said, “and I don’t think we’ve captured all the opportunities, and this is just one more unique opportunity.”

There’s a ton of space history in New Mexico, Kennedy said. He pointed to tests by the national laboratories of robotic rovers for the Mars missions and the many museums New Mexico is home to, including the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo and the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque.

Some of the tour locations SpaceValley is considering include Roswell’s International UFO Museum and Research Center and NASA’s White Sands test facility, according to Hinds Armstrong.

“Networking too is super important in what we do already with local businesses and companies and artists and scientists,” Hinds Armstrong said, “and just bringing in all the important people that are here in New Mexico and really create these rich, vibrant experiences that New Mexico has to offer.”