Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Todd G. Dickson
Part of the state’s spaceport deal with Virgin Galactic is that the company set up its headquarters in New Mexico, and Las Cruces appears to be that place.
Carolyn Wincer, Virgin Galactic’s head of travel and tourism, told the City Council Monday, Oct. 3, that the company will soon be opening an office in Las Cruces as the base of its operations in New Mexico. A location has been picked, but Virgin isn’t releasing it yet.
Virgin is ramping up its preparations for when the company begins flying tourists into suborbital space 70 miles above Earth’s surface, perhaps even as soon as next year. The company is currently testing the carrier flyer and spaceship, which is launched in mid-air.
Wincer said more than 70 flight tests have made of Virgin’s first spaceliner, including 16 solo glide flights of SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger version of the two-seater that was the first piloted rocket vehicle to reach suborbital space in 2004. The hybrid rocket engine that will be propelling the passengers and pilots is going through a series of tests, which Wincer said she wasn’t allowed to say much about for proprietary reasons.
Some 500 experienced test pilots have applied to fly for Virgin Galactic, she said. Meanwhile, more than 500 potential passengers have put down deposits for the $200,000 tickets, totaling close to $16 million, she said.
British business magnate Richard Branson is investing more than $200 million into development of the Virgin Galactic fleet, while the total start-up budget for Spaceport America is $209 million. Located 45 miles north of Las Cruces, Spaceport America has a two mile runway ready for the flights and work is near completion on the Hangar Terminal Facility that will house Virgin Galactic’s fleet of spaceliners.
Wincer said Virgin has already hired more than 100 people, many of them Americans, because large-scale rocketry falls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations passed after the 9/11 attacks.
As work continues to make sure the spaceliner is safe for its passengers – with Branson and his family to take the first non-test flight – the company is now focusing on preparing the on-ground experiences, said Wincer, who has worked for Branson’s resorts in the past.
Virgin plans to fly at least twice a day with each passenger arriving two days before their flight. Those passengers also are expected to bring family, friends and others during their visit, she said. Virgin is currently assessing what kind of “tourism infrastructure” is available, she said, and talking to its future passengers about what kind of experiences they would like to have during their stays.
Wayne Savage, who chairs the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Space Committee, said his group is working on issues, such as supporting the tourism experience, but even more critical is trying to make the city a central location for providing supply chain services and other support of the spaceport operations and the companies like Virgin Galactic.
“The good news is that our spaceport is quickly becoming a functioning reality,” Savage said. Operational contracts have recently been awarded to companies that have done work with White Sands Missile Range, he said.
The next day, Pat Hynes, director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, talked about the upcoming International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) to the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA). More than 500 people – including those key players in developing the private space industry – are expected to attend ISPCS Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 19-20, at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road.
Hynes told those attending the MVEDA luncheon Tuesday, Oct. 4, at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, that there are a number of opportunities for local businesses to make connections at ISPCS.
Prior to the conference, there will be a Growing Community Partnership Luncheon Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Commercial Space Exhibit Hall, which will be located inside the museum. The $50 luncheon includes a talk by Allan Lockheed, son of the aviation pioneer who created what is now Lockheed Martin. Hynes said Lockheed will talk about how the space industry will coalesce around Spaceport America – an industry that is currently supported by $60 billion just in government spending. Though a “heavy business conference” attracting attendees from all over the world, ISPCS also will hold panels on creating the supply chain support, Hynes said.
So important is the question of establishing reliable sources of materials, equipment and facilities near Spaceport America that Virgin Galactic also is holding a supply chain meeting the day before ISPCS, Hynes said. “The supply chain is an indicator of the growth of the industry,” she said.
Because ISPCS has become the main annual gathering for those trying to open up this new industry, Hynes said she makes a point to expose them to local and New Mexico products, from its chile to its wines.
One in-state resource that the conference will look at is a center for gliding at Moriarty. Many of the spaceport’s vehicles will glide in for landings, such as Virgin Galactic, she said. Also, research has been conducted at Spaceport America’s sounding rocket launch facilities on winged rocket boosters that glide back to the ground for potential reuse, instead of simply falling away.
The two-day ISPCS costs $649 with discounted rates for active military – $329 – and students – $150. Last year, ISPCS brought in more than $1 million of local economic activity, Hynes said. “That’s a lot of economic impact for this area and this year’s conference will be three times that,” she said. The proceeds from the conference pay for launches from Spaceport America of student experiments, which Hynes said is very expensive.
The good news is that our spaceport is quickly becoming a functioning reality.
