Colorado is home to some of the most innovative research in space exploration. The state ranks highest in the nation for private sector employment in the space industry. Even so, much of the work can go unnoticed by many of our residents. We at the Colorado Business Roundtable work to keep you informed of the many great companies and organizations making advancements in aerospace. This week we bring you an inside look at Sierra Nevada Corporation, and the latest on the upcoming Space Symposium.

Mark Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems, joins us for a Pro-Business Colorado segment with Dave Tabor, from the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry. Mark shares inspiring stories about their work on space vehicles and other important components. SNC boasts 26 years in space, and has been a part of 425 missions, as the largest builder of small satellites. They make possible weather reporting systems which allow farmers to determine which areas of their land require watering, or helping firefighters determine the driest areas where forest fires might flare up, as well as asset tracking for companies like FedEx.

Another current project is a solar probe spacecraft to be launched close to the sun to monitor its' storms. Radiation from those storms have the potential to destroy the GPS satellites and other systems that we rely upon here on earth. Sierra Nevada also anticipates in coming weeks, the arrival of New Horizions on Pluto, after 10 years of travel, at a speed of 20 thousand miles per hour.

Later in the show, we also check in with Edgar Johansson, President of the Colorado Space Business Roundtable about the upcoming Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, April 13-18th. The Space Symposium is a gathering of top aerospace scientists and engineers from around the world, discussing classified projects so it is not open to the public. But, if you want to indulge your or your child's interest in aerospace, get them registered for Yuri's night, leading up to the symposium on April 12th. Yuri's night is a celebration of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, who circled the earth on April Meet astronauts, and enjoy fun interactive activities. 12, 1961. Find more information and registration information here. Meet astronauts, and enjoy fun interactive activities.

Listen Saturday at 1:00 PM on 710 KNUS – Please let us know what you think of our program, either by commenting here or on Facebook at Connect & Collaborate with ICOSA or join the discussion on Twitter @ICOSAMagazine.