Spaceport America
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Spaceport America (formerly named Southwest Regional Spaceport) is a commercial spaceport currently being developed on 27 square miles (70 km²) of state-owned desert near Upham, an uninhabited place in Sierra County, New Mexico.[1] The site is 45 miles (72 km) north of Las Cruces, and 30 miles (48 km) east of Truth or Consequences, near the perimeter of the White Sands Missile Range. According to an Associated Press report, it currently consists of "a 100-foot (30 m) by 25-foot (7.6 m) concrete slab." Three suborbital rocket launches from the site have been reported.
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[edit] Origins
The creation of Spaceport America was the result of a long term effort by many dedicated individuals to bring orbital launch and recovery operations and infrastructure to southern New Mexico. The initial spaceport concept was suggested in 1990 by Dr. Burton Lee (Stanford University),[1] who proposed the creation of a land recovery facility for commercial and government orbital re-entry capsules. Lee authored the initial business and strategic plans, secured seed funding in the amount of $1.4 million through a congressional earmark with the assistance of Sen. Pete Domenici, and worked closely with Bernie McCune and Len Sugerman of the NMSU Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) to develop local support for the spaceport concept. The non-profit group Southwest Regional Space Task Force was created in 1992 by Dr. Ave Tombes, VP for Research and Economic Development at NMSU, in response to these successful efforts to obtain congressional and local support for the initiative.[2] The Taskforce served as a vehicle for coordinating local and statewide efforts to promote the Southwest Regional Spaceport (SWRS), as it was originally designated, including ties with federal organizations such as White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). During the 1993-1994 timeframe, the spaceport concept morphed to focus on launch-to-orbit facilities and operations, initially intended to support the NASA/Lockheed VentureStar single-stage-to-orbit program.
The SWRS was renamed Spaceport America in 2006 after Governor Bill Richardson and Secy. Rick Homans adopted the spaceport initiative as a formal state of New Mexico economic development program, with Virgin Galactic slated to be the first anchor tenant. Spaceport co-founders since 1990 include Lou Gomez, Bill Gutman, Rick Homans, Burton Lee, Bernie McCune, Gov. Bill Richardson, Hanson Scott, Len Sugerman, and Lonnie Sumpter, among others (see below for a link to the Official Spaceport America History presentation, as of October 2007).
Spaceport America is intended to be the first built-from-scratch commercial spaceport in the United States of America.[3] The $225 million venture was announced in mid-December 2005 in Santa Fe. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to launch its first flight from the spaceport in 2009. Virgin has already collected its $200,000 per-person fee from the first 100 passengers. Once completed, Spaceport America is expected to be the venue for the annual X Prize Cup suborbital spaceflight competitions.[4]
[edit] Funding and construction
It was reported on April 4, 2006 that construction at the spaceport site had started. On April 3, 2007 voters in neighboring Doña Ana County approved a spaceport tax referendum, which passed by only 270 out of nearly 18,000 votes cast. Although collection of the tax was set to begin in January 2008, in order for collection of the tax to begin, a spaceport district had to be created, which required that the tax be approved and collected in at least two counties. Since as of January 2008 only voters in Dona Ana county had approved the tax, collection of the tax was placed on hold by New Mexico's attorney general.
On April 22, 2008, voters in Sierra County, the actual home of the proposed spaceport, approved the collection of the Spaceport Tax in their county, thus finally enabling the creation of a spaceport tax district and freeing the disposition of over $40 million in funding. [5]
The first images of what the new spaceport terminal will look like were released in early September 2007.[6] The new spaceport has been designed by Foster + Partners, with construction advice being given by the URS Corporation. Construction is expected to begin in 2008 and completed by 2010.[6]
[edit] Launches
The first launch from the site was the unsuccessful maiden flight of the SpaceLoft XL rocket. On September 25, 2006 the rocket, launched by Connecticut firm UP Aerospace, veered off course shortly after lift-off.[7] The rocket went into a tail spin and did not reach space, instead crashing into a desolate portion of the White Sands Missile Range. A second Spaceloft XL was successfully launched April 28, 2007.[8] The primary payload of the second launch was cremated human remains, including those of astronaut Gordon Cooper and Star Trek actor James Doohan.
| Launch | Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Launch pad | Launch contractor | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25, 2006 | SpaceLoft XL | Various | Launch tower | UP Aerospace | Failure | Loss of control shortly after launch |
| 2 | April 28, 2007 | SpaceLoft XL | Celestis and other payloads | Launch tower | UP Aerospace | Success | |
| 3 | December 19, 2007[9][10] | SpaceLoft XL? | Technology Demonstration | Launch tower | UP Aerospace | Success | Low-altitude atmospheric launch. Did not reach space.[9] |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b History of Spaceport America. New Mexico State University. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Not even the sky's the limit for new aerospace industry. New Mexico State University. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Spaceport America: First Looks at a New Space Terminal. space.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Private Spaceflight: Shifting into Fast Forward. space.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ New Mexico Moves Ahead on Spaceport. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ^ a b First images of Spaceport America revealed. flightglobal.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ UP Aerospace: Return to Flight in Progress. space.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Ashes of Star Trek's Scotty Fly to Space. Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b UP Aerospace launches test flight from spaceport. kob.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Private Firm Launches Test Shot From Spaceport America. space.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
[edit] External links
- Spaceports - Futures Channel Mini-Documentary September 2007
- SpacePortAmerica
- Article in SEED magazine describing a visit to Spaceport America and the future of the fledgling private space industry
- UP Aerospace
- Zero-G Space
- Starchaser Industries
- Info @ Encyclopedia Astronautica
[edit] Maps & Directions
- Google Maps satellite map of Upham, New Mexico
- Topographic map of Upham, New Mexico from TopoZone
- Photos of the first concrete launching pad at Spaceport America made during a trip in March 2006 by Jason Stevenson for an article for SEED magazine)
- Photolog of trip to spaceport site by David Simmons (dated February 19, 2006, roughly one month prior to start of construction)
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