Spaceport America

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The use by UP Aerospace for the SpaceLoft XL is both incomprehensible and incompletely described; and the facility has now opened.
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Spaceport America
Entrance gate Spaceport America.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code -
IATA code -
Coordinates

32 ° 59 '25 "  N , 106 ° 58' 31"  W Coordinates: 32 ° 59 '25 "  N , 106 ° 58' 31"  W.
Height above MSL 1403.6 m (4605  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 10 km northeast of Upham
Basic data
opening 10/17/2011
operator Virgin Galactic , LLC
Start-and runway
16/34 3048 m of concrete

Spaceport America (also known as New Mexico Spaceport and formerly Southwest Regional Spaceport ) is the first privately financed spaceport . It is located in the Jornada del Muerto valley in New Mexico , USA near the White Sands Missile Range test site of the United States Army . It was under construction from 2005 to 2011, the facility finally opened on October 17, 2011, and flight operations were scheduled to begin by the end of 2013, but have been postponed indefinitely. The facility is operated by Virgin Galactic .

history

Spaceport America terminal - The Gateway

In mid-December 2005, the 225 million US dollars expensive projects in Santa Fe announced. The company Virgin Galactic planned in 2010 from this spaceport from a first sub-orbital space flight conduct. The location was chosen because the airspace over the region, which is closed to the US Army test site, offers optimal launch conditions. In addition, the state of New Mexico agreed to subsidize the project with $ 200 million. Around April 4, 2006, construction work began on a rocket at the spaceport by UP Aerospace from Connecticut , which was one of the first users of the new facilities with its rocket series for a suborbital flight " SpaceLoft XL ". In July 2006, the spaceport was renamed from Southwest Regional Spaceport to Spaceport America . In September 2006, three companies were based at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace and Starchaser Industries .

The first unmanned rocket launch on September 25, 2006 ended in a crash. The first successful rocket launch took place on April 28, 2007 - a little over seven months after the first false launch. The first road and bridge construction work for the spaceport began in September 2008 and the foundation stone for the terminal and hangar building was officially laid on June 19, 2009. On October 22, 2010 at noon local time in the presence of Virgin Galactic boss Richard Branson and the Governor of New Mexico , Bill Richardson , the inauguration of the runway took place. The terminal and hangar building by architect Norman Foster was inaugurated on October 18, 2011 by Richard Branson. It bears the name Virgin Galactic Gateway to the Space and contains the check-in areas for passengers and scientists, as well as hangars for two White Knight Two carrier aircraft and up to five SpaceShipTwo space vehicles. The building was built according to the latest low-energy standards and, with its facade made of “pre-rusted” steel, the hump shape of sand dunes and the dark, rubber-coated roof, is blurred into the desert landscape.

Richard Branson and two of his children want to be the first passengers. The spacecraft will then be available for commercial space tourists.

The end of 2012 and then 2013 were given as the date for the first flight. Significant problems with the spacecraft's engines resulted in an indefinite postponement in October 2013.

more details

The operator of the spaceport is the "New Mexico Spaceport Authority" (NMSA). The area covers around 70 square kilometers of desert area. It is located in the Jornada del Muerto Valley , near the ghost town of Upham , New Mexico . The valley extends east of the Rio Grande , approximately 72 kilometers north of Las Cruces and 48 kilometers east of Truth or Consequences .

In May 2013 it was announced that the private space company SpaceX had signed a three-year contract with the operator. The company plans to use the facility to test the reusable Grasshopper spacecraft .

Web links

Commons : Spaceport America  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b heise.de: Private manned space flight: Virgin Galactic postpones maiden flight , October 2, 2013
  2. ↑ a b c Jörg Häntzschel: Heaven over the desert . Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 14, 2012, page 13.
  3. ↑ "New Mexico spaceport unveils new name" - Article at dailybulletin.com , July 18, 2006
  4. ↑ US private space rocket crashes. BBC News, September 26, 2009, accessed October 18, 2011 .
  5. ↑ "Connecticut company launches 'Scotty' into space" (English) - Article in Las Cruces Sun-News , April 2007
  6. ↑ From New Mexico to Space: Groundbreaking for the First Commercial Space Station on Earth - Article by Touristik News , June 22, 2009
  7. ↑ Spaceport America - Groundbreaking - article at Raumfahrer.net , June 21, 2009
  8. ↑ Virgin Galactic inaugurates runway for tourist spaceship. Spiegel Online, October 22, 2010, accessed December 28, 2010 .
  9. ↑ a b Virgingalactic.com: Sir Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez dedicate the 'Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space' ( Memento of January 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), October 17, 2011
  10. ↑ SpaceX to test Grasshopper reusable booster at Spaceport America in NM ( Memento from January 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )