05. Is it true that a spaceport will be built in New Mexico? *(Rick Homans) (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

New Mexico made headlines around the world in December 2005 when British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson chose the state to be the headquarters for Virgin Galactic—the first company in the world to take paying passengers into suborbital space. This is an exciting time in history. For the first time, everyday people will be able to buy a ticket on a spaceplane, blast out of the atmosphere, and view the Earth from outer space. Until now, US spaceflight has been controlled by NASA. Now, modern-day counterparts of the Wright brothers are developing new ways to transport passengers and payloads into space. New Mexico has built a spaceport for Virgin Galactic and businesses like them. Already, this company as well as rocket builders UP Aerospace and Starchaser Industries have located in the state. New Mexico is appealing to aerospace companies for several reasons. It is sunny 340 days a year, which means that launches probably won't be cancelled because of bad weather. The spaceport site is at an elevation of about 4,700 feet, which means spacecraft will need less fuel to reach space, compared to launch sites at sea level. As the fifth largest state in land area, but with a population of only 2 million people, New Mexico has plenty of wide-open land and sky.

The site of the new spaceport is about 30 miles east of the town of Truth or Consequences. It contains hangars, runways, rockets and spaceplanes carrying people to the final frontier.

For additional information, please see: www.nmspace.com

Answer provided by Derek Webber & Rick Homans & Eric Anderson

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer