Spaceport America: Making Commercial Spaceflight a Reality

Twenty years ago, Dr. Burton Lee of Stanford University decided he was tired of space access being reserved to governments alone. So, perhaps remembering all the Star Trek and other science fiction he must have absorbed in his youth, he came up with a plan for the construction of commercial space and reusable launch vehicles. Soon other like-minded nerds individuals heard of his ideas, and in 1992, the Southwest Space Task Force was formed to advance the New Mexico space industry's commercial infrastructure and activity. By 2003, they submitted a proposal to Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Rick Homans. What they proposed, and what Homans immediately developed a keen interest in, was nothing less than the world's first commercial spaceport.

I must admit a certain fascination with this subject. I, too, was and am a science fiction fan, and something like this is what I have dreamed of since I saw those amazing adventures set in the limitless bounds of outer space, where Han Solo, Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew, and my other favorite space heroes discovered new life and new worlds, and often proceeded to destroy same in gripping, laser-lit, physics-defying battles. You see, the spaceport is a lot like an airport, only instead of flying on an airplane in the air, you get to fly on a spaceship in outer space. Soon businesses, tourists- whoever wants to explore the universe for the advancement of mankind, may do so in a safe, affordable, efficient manner.

Secretary Homans presented the idea of a New Mexico spaceport to Governor Bill Richardson and took the lead in making a scientific dream become reality, negotiating with the X Prize Foundation to locate the X Prize Cup in New Mexico, spearheading legislation to finance the spaceport, and most recently, recruiting four aerospace mavericks - including Virgin Galactic - to New Mexico. Governor Richardson was instrumental in helping to bring about the future of space travel by assisting in the formation of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, welcoming Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Galactic World Headquarters to New Mexico, and obtaining the launch license for vertical launch activity from the Federal Aviation Administration's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) .

Commercial Spaceflight

Virgin Galactic has already completed a manned flight on the VSS Enterprise is already booking for the actual commercial flights. Granted, at $200,000 per flight, the vast majority of us humans won't be taking a trip to space any time soon, but when one thinks about it, $200,000 is nothing compared to what it costs NASA to accomplish anything. It is possible that all of us may hop on a spacecraft as easily as we do airplanes. Spaceport America is yet another reason that science, New Mexico, and Sir Richard Branson are awesome.