Commerical Spaceport America Groundbreaking Took Place Today

Ground breaking at the New Mexico commercial spaceport near the town of Truth or Consequences took place today. This is the $198 million dolar project, funded by the New Mexico state governement for commercial companies to have access to space. The facility will be known by the name of Spaceport America.

Gov. Bill Richards was in attendance. "After all of the hard work to get this project off the ground, it is gratifying to see Spaceport America finally become a reality."

Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company known as Virgin Galactic will be based at this location. Virgin Galactic will offer suborbital space flights costing $200,000 a ride. Virgin Galactic's President Will Whitehorn said that the company has taken in 300 advanced bookings. First planned spaceflights will began hopefully in two years.

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Ref. Reuters.com, "New Mexico breaks ground on commercial spaceport." by Tim Gaynor, June 19, 2009. ( http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE55I5NK20090619).

Virgin's Space Tourism is Just the Beginning

Will Whitehorn has plans for the future with Virgin Galactic over the next 20 years.  Plans that include such things as space science, computer server farms and replacing long-haul flights. 

Virigin Galactic has collected $40 million in deposts from future space tourists including such notible people as physicist Stephen Hawking.  VG is planning to begin its commercial space trips within the next two years.  Mr. Whitehorn told reporters that they have bookings from over 300 people that are willing to pay $200,000 for each space flight.  

Right now, Virgin is still running test flights and is hoping to win a license form the Federal Aviation Administration.  "We needed to know we had a sound business plan," Will Whitehorn told FIPP World Magazine Congress, where he was invited to attend. 

Whitehorn also went into how "green" their business plan is by launching their spacecraft from a jet carrier aircraft over more conventional gorund-launch rocket technology.  Plus the non-metallic materials from which the SpaceShipTwo and its carrier aircraft are made from are lighter, and require less power than NASA's space shuttle.  

Virgin is not the only non-government party trying to get in on the space travel industry.  Such companies as SpaceX lead by Elon Musk, are developing their own space-launch vehicles.  some of which might one day be man-rated.  

But other plans for Virgin Galactic is also planning to add to their business plans for orbital computer server farms.  Long-haul transportation flights (i.e. London to Sydney in two and a half hours). Transporting crews up to the space station and launching satellites. 

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Ref. Reuters, London. by Georgina Prodhan posted May 7, 2009. (http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE54639Q20090507). 

WhiteKnightTwo Has Maiden Flight This Month

Virgin Galactic's carrier aircraft known as WhiteKnightTwo (or as SpaceShipTwo Carrier) made a successful maiden test flight on December 21, 2008 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The aircraft designed by Scale Composites lifted off with its four Pratt and Whitney PW308A turbofan engines at 8:17 am. The maiden test flight ended at the same runway at about 9:17am PST.

Virgin Galactic has on order five of the SpaceShipTwo rocket planes and two of the carriers (WhiteKnightTwo Carrier). Burt Rutan told Space.com "Overall, 99% on target and everybody is really happy. You get an airplane that's this weird and get it up and get it down.. and it's safe on deck."

Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic added, "White Knight Two is the world's largest all carbon composite aviation vehicle. And of course she really is also a first stage space launch system capable of carrying enormous weight to the edge of the atmosphere, training astronauts with her zero to six G flying capability and being a scientific payload at the same time."

In other Virgin Galactic news, on December 15, 2008, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) announced that Spaceport America has received its Record of Decision and license for verticle and horizontal launch operations from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The Gerald Martin Construction Management of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will oversee the construction of Spaceport America. The NMSA is expected to have a signed lease agreement with Virgin Galactic by the end of the month. Terminal and hangar facility construction will began in 2009 and hopefully completed by late 2010.

Ref. Article on Space.com by Leonard David, "SpaceShipTwo Carrier Craft Makes Successful First Flight"Posted on December 21, 2008. photo taken by and posted to Space.com: Bill Deaver (Mojave Desert News).