THIS CAME TO BE AND WHAT’S WAITING IN THE WINGS. YOU MIGHT THINK OF IT AS THE
OLD KELLY AIR FORCE BASE.
BUT WHAT PORT SAN ANTONIO IS
TODAY IS A FAR CRY FROM HOW IT
STARTED. YET. THE ROOTS OF
INNOVATION ARE STILL THERE.
THE NAME PORTS, OF COURSE,
WHICH IS STILL PARTLY TRUE.
>> IN THIS KSAT EXPLAINS, WE
SHOW YOU HOW PORT SA IS
CHANGING.
♪
CHANGING. ♪ >> THERE’S A MISCONCEPTION THAT
THIS IS SOME SORT OF STRANGE
OFF THE GRID. FEDERAL ENCLAVE
PORT SAN ANTONIO ON THE CITY’S
SOUTHWEST SIDE SHARES A RUNWAY
WITH LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE
LACED IN BETWEEN MODERN
BUILDINGS ARE OLD MILITARY
BARRACKS, AIRPLANE HANGARS AND
BRICK ROADS.
>> ALL A REMINDER OF WHAT ONCE
WAS SAN ANTONIO’S IN EXCESS OF
EVERYTHING THAT THE AIR FORCE
BECAME.
IN MARCH OF 1910, THE
MILITARY’S FIRST AIRCRAFT TOOK
ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT AT FORT SAM
HOUSTON, BENJAMIN FLOYD
BASICALLY CUT HIMSELF.
>> TO FLY USING INSTRUCTIONS.
HE GOT FROM THE MAIL, THE LOYA
U.S. ARMY GENERAL BEGAN
TEACHING OTHERS ABOUT THESE
NEW INVENTIONS. THEY WERE
MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTS,
BUT ONE WENT TERRIBLY WRONG.
PILOT GEORGE HIM, KELLY, AFTER
WHOM KELLY AIR FORCE BASE WAS
NAMED CRASHED AND DIED TRYING
TO AVOID CAMP IN AREAS ON FORT
SAM.
>> THEY SAID NO MORE FUN HERE.
IT’S NOT THAT THE BASES AND
SET AND SO GENERAL LLOYD
EVENTUALLY MOVED HIS FLIGHTS TO
A PLOT OF LAND ON THE SOUTHWEST
SIDE. KELLY WAS THE FIRST AIR
FORCE IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN
NOVEMBER OF 1916. THE BASE
EVOLVED INTO THE NATION’S
LARGEST HUB FOR MAINTENANCE,
REPAIR AND OVERHAUL BY THE
1990’S. KELLY AIR FORCE BASE
WAS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN
SAN ANTONIO.
>> AND 1.2 IS ABOUT 28,000
CIVIL SERVANTS AND CONTRACTORS
WORKING THERE. BUT VIRTUALLY
OVERNIGHT, THOSE WORKERS FOUND
THEIR PAYCHECKS COMING FROM
BOEING AND KNIGHT AEROSPACE,
NOT THE AIR FORCE.
>> IN 1995, THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE ANNOUNCED A BASE
REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE OR
BRAC. THE DOD STOPPED OPERATING
THE BASE. 6 YEARS LATER.
SOME REALLY FORWARD LOOKING.
PEOPLE SAID.
>> WHAT’S NOT CLOSE, LET’S JUST
CHANGE THE WAY THAT WE THINK OF
IT. THE GREATER KELLY
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TOOK
CHARGE OF THE LAND REMAINING
AT KELLY USA. THE NEW MISSION
WAS TO OPERATE AS A LANDLORD
WHILE KEEPING SAN ANTONIO’S
HIGHLY TRAINED MILITARY
WORKHORSE.
>> IT BECAME AN INLAND PORT
WHICH STILL EXIST IN A SMALL
WAY TODAY. THERE IS THE ABILITY
TO DO RAIL LOGISTICS. THERE IS
A LITTLE BIT OF AIR CARGO THAT
FLIES IN AND OUT OF HERE ON A
DAILY BASIS. IN 2007, THE NAME
WAS CHANGED TO PORT SAN ANTONIO
TO REFLECT THAT PROCESS.
>> BUT IN 2018, NEW LEADERSHIP
HAD A NEW VISION. THE MISSION
OF PORT SA BECAME MORE ABOUT
TRANSPORTING IDEAS. THAT CARGO.
WE ARE THE CENTER OF GRAVITY
FOR CYBERSECURITY INFORMATION,
TECHNOLOGY AND AVIATION, AS
WELL AS CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE. NOT JUST IN
SAN ANTONIO.
BUT QUITE POSSIBLY TEXAS.
SO PORT SAN ANTONIO KEPT ITS
ROLE AS A LANDLORD, BUT ITS
TENANTS BECAME MORE TECH
FOCUSED.
>> PORT SA OPERATES AS A
POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE
STATE AND IS PUBLICLY OWNED.
BUT THEY DON’T GET TAX DOLLARS.
WHAT WE DO IS WE BORROW AGAINST
THE ASSETS THAT WE OWN.
>> WE MAKE OUR MONEY THROUGH
OPERATIONS, PROFIT AND LOSS
THROUGH SERVICES THAT WE SELL.
>> TODAY, A DIFFERENT COMPANIES
AT 16,000 EMPLOYEES ARE LOCATED
ON THE CAMPUS, BOTH IN THE
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR.
ACCORDING TO THE STATE
COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE, THE PORT
GENERATED 5.6 BILLION DOLLARS
IN 2018. BOEING WAS THE FIRST
PRIVATE COMPANY TO PLANT ROOTS
AT PORT SA IN THE LATE 90’S.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 7 PROGRAMS
ON SITE TODAY. THIS IS BOEING’S
LARGEST OPERATION ON THE
PLANET. SO COMBINATION HAVING
ACCESS TO THE FACILITIES, WE
NEED THE RUNWAY WE NEED, BUT
IT’S REALLY ABOUT BEING TIED IN
WITH THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE
LARGEST FREESTANDING HANGAR IN
THE WORLD.
>> WE HAVE ABOUT 1.6 MILLION
SQUARE FEET ON THIS SITE.
WE HAVE ACCESS TO A 12,000 FOOT
RUNWAY SO WE CAN FLY ANY
AIRCRAFT TODAY AS OPPOSED TO
100 YEARS AGO. THOSE AIRPLANES
ARE REALLY BIG FLYING
COMPUTERS.
>> AND SO WHAT USED TO BE ABOUT
NEARLY ENGINE BLADES AND ROTORS
NOW REQUIRES MICROCHIPS AND
COMPUTER PROCESSORS AND BIG
DATA AND MUCH OF THAT NEW
TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DEVELOPED
AT PORT SAN ANTONIO THROUGH
COMPANIES LIKE STANDARD AERO
AND CROW MALLOY. BUT IT’S NOT
JUST AEROSPACE. IT’S A
>> A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BOUNCE
IDEAS OFF EACH OTHER. PLUS, ONE
ROBOTICS IS ONE OF THE NEWEST
COMPANIES ON THE CAMPUS.
A LOCAL STARTUP FOCUSED ON
MAKING LOADING AND UNLOADING
TRUCKS EASIER. THEY BUILD
ROBOTS THAT CAN DO THAT JOB.
ALL MONITORED BY HUMANS VIA
THE INTERNET. SO WE ARE THE
BLEND OF CYBER SECURITY AND
LOGISTICS. AND THAT’S THE EXACT
SAME MIX OF PEOPLE THAT ARE
HERE. THE NEED FOR
CYBERSECURITY EXPERTISE CAN BE
FOUND JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM
PLUS ONE WITH OVER A DOZEN
CYBERSECURITY COMPANIES ON THE
CAMPUS. THERE IS THIS NEXUS
OF TECHNOLOGY AND LOGISTICS.
>> BUT ALSO THE ABILITY TO
>> GROW.
>> AS QUICKLY AS WE WANTED TO,
BUT INTERCONNECTION IS A BIG
GOAL FOR POOR TO SAY NOT JUST
FOR THE HERE AND NOW, BUT ALSO
FOR A NEW GENERATION OF TECH
TALENT. THE TECH PORTER ARENA
OPENED LAST YEAR TELLS US THE
SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY. THERE’S ALSO
THE WEX FOUNDATION, A SPACE
EXPLORATION PROGRAM THAT
INVOLVES LOCAL MIDDLE
SCHOOLERS. WE’VE HAD KIDS AND
WE TAKE NO CREDIT FOR
THEIR BRAINS.
>> COME IN AND GO ON TO MIT,
GONE TO AN AMAZON TO ALAMO
COLLEGES. GO ON HOW OUT THERE.
>> AND THAT’S WHAT IT’S ABOUT.
WHAT IDEA THAT CAME OUT OF THE
STUDENT BASED PROGRAMS, LUNAR
HABITAT PODS THAT ARE MADE UP
OF GROUND-UP MOON ROCK IT 3 D
PRINTED INTO LIVABLE STRUCTURES
ON THE MOON’S SURFACE. AND THAT
IDEA IS NO LONGER JUST A
THEORY. IT’S BEING BROUGHT TO
LIFE BY A SAN ANTONIO COMPANY
CALLED ASTRO PORT, WHICH HAS A
PARTNERSHIP WITH NASA. THERE
ARE ALSO PLANS TO BUILD A BIO.
DON’T HERE A SPACE WHERE
RESEARCHERS CAN EXPERIMENT WITH
ENVIRONMENTS LIKE THE MOON’S
SURFACE AND AVERT REPORT.
IT’S GOING TO BE A FIRST OF ITS
KIND HEARD OF PORTS OVER TO
PORT IS A NEW AIRPORT CURRENTLY
DOESN’T EXIST ON TO SUPPORT
ELECTRIC, VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND
LANDING AIRCRAFT PROPELLING A
LONG HISTORY OF FLIGHT INTO
THE FUTURE.
>> NOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED
IN OUR VIDEO THERE THAT THE
SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE
CAMPUS NOW SAYS TECH PORT, NOT
PORT SA. WE ASK THE CEO JIM
PURSE POCKET. THE HAS PLANS TO
CHANGE THE NAME TO TECH PORT.
AND HIS ANSWER WAS WE’LL SEE.
YOU CAN SCAN THE QR CODE ON
YOUR SCREEN HERE RIGHT NOW TO