"Land of Enchantment", or Gateway To The Stars?

New Mexico may just need a new state motto, after it was announced Tuesday that Virgin Galactic, the private spaceflight brainchild of billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, has entered into an agreement with the state to build a $225 million spaceport in the southern part of the state near White Sands Missile Range.

"Experts predict that thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment will be created in the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry in New Mexico," New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said, as was reported by the Associated Press. "Virgin is the beginning and many other space companies will follow."

The deal, which still needs approval from environmental and aviation authorities, means passengers would begin flying on Burt-Rutan-designed civilian spacecraft from a facility south of Truth or Consequences, NM by late 2008. Virgin Galactic says they already have deposits from nearly 38,000 passengers from 126 countries for future spaceflights.

"Many of the others will need to wait until the price comes down and will want to wait for proven reliability and safety," said Virgin Galactic Marketing Executive Stephen Attenborough, adding his thanks to the initial 100 people who have been willing to "step up to the plate" and pay the initial cost of $200,000 per ticket upfront.

Virgin Galactic says New Mexico was chosen for its relatively stable climate, low population density, and high altitude. Combined with relatively unencumbered airspace, the state has many features that Virgin expects will reduce costs of the program significantly. The British operation would have a 20-year lease on the spaceport, with initial annual payments to the state of $1 million. Those payments would increase towards the end of the term, to cover the development costs.

At least 90 percent of the spaceport's infrastructure will be constructed underground, according to Virgin Galactic, with only the runway and supporting structures visible.

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com, www.state.nm.us