First Runway At The First Purpose-Built Commercial
Spaceport
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) dedicated the nearly
two-mile long "Governor Bill Richardson Spaceway" at Spaceport
America late last week, representing significant progress toward
launching commercial customers into space from the desert of New
Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson, Sir Richard Branson and
approximately 30 of more than 380 Virgin Galactic future astronauts
attended the event along with guests from around the world and
watched a flyover and landing by Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo,
in a captive carry with SpaceShipTwo.
Spaceport America Fly-Over
"We are celebrating the world's first spaceway at the world's
first purpose-built, commercial spaceport," said Governor
Richardson. "New Mexico is not only helping to launch the
commercial spaceflight industry, but we are launching new jobs and
opportunities for the people of southern New Mexico. Today marks a
significant milestone on our historic and exciting journey."?
The nearly two-mile long runway was officially named the
"Governor Bill Richardson Spaceway" at the event, and Governor
Richardson joined Sir Richard in placing their hand prints in clay
as a permanent commemoration of the historic day. NMSA Chairman Ben
Woods said the board of the NMSA had met early Friday to formally
and unanimously approve the name of the spaceway.
"It is incredible to be here today with Governor Richardson and
be part of the runway dedication at Spaceport America," said Sir
Richard Branson. "To see for myself how far the construction has
come from when I last visited New Mexico is truly inspiring - I for
one can't wait for the grand opening - today has brought it one
step closer to reality for me. The last few weeks have been some of
the most exciting in Virgin Galactic's development. Our spaceship
is flying beautifully and will soon be making powered flights,
propelled by our new hybrid rocket motor, which is also making
excellent progress in its own test program. The investment deal
with our new partners Aabar has successfully closed, securing
funding for the remainder of the development program and we are
seeing unprecedented numbers of people coming forward to secure
their own reservations for this incredible experience. To be here
in New Mexico to witness this historic moment is the perfect end to
a great month."
Governor Bill Richardson
Governor Richardson, Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Galactic
future astronauts and the guests were all invited to tour the
terminal hangar facility, which is nearing completion. The iconic
building, meeting Gold LEED standards, will serve as the operating
hub for Virgin Galactic and is expected to house up to two
WhiteKnightTwos and five SpaceShipTwos, in addition to all of
Virgin's astronaut preparation facilities and mission control.
Held immediately following the International Symposium for
Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS), the Spaceport America
Runway Dedication marked the culmination of "Space Week" in New
Mexico, and was made possible in part thanks to premier event
sponsors Summit West Construction, Gerald Martin Construction
Management, AECOM, Molzen-Corbin, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, of
Albuquerque, NM, and the New Mexico Tourism Department. Other
speakers at the event included: Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator
of NASA; George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic; Patricia Hynes,
Executive Director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium; and
Rick Homans, Executive Director of the NMSA.
Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator of NASA, said, "With the
recent signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 by President
Obama, it is clear that our nation's future space efforts will be
working even more closely than with the growing commercial space
transportation industry," She added, "Innovative approaches that
foster this new commercial industry will bring more competition and
opportunities that will lower the costs of spaceflight and payload
services for America's aerospace programs, and introduce new human
space transportation systems."
Spaceport America Aerial Concept View
The 42-inch thick spaceway is designed to support nearly every
type of aircraft in the world today. It is made up of 24 inches of
prepared sub-grade, followed by four inches of asphalt, and
finished with a 14-inch layer of concrete. The spaceway will
accommodate returning launch vehicles, fly-back rocket boosters and
other space launch and training vehicles.
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