New Mexico Spaceport: Getting Down To Business

"Creation of a spaceport in New Mexico to handle excursions of commuters to the edge of space is a work in progress. But not only are sky-high dreamers needed. Lots of political propulsion fueled by high-financing is also crucial. ".....

www.space.com...

Has anyone else heard of this?

Richard Branson seems to be the money and push behind this. Since he lives in London, Why did he choose New Mexico as the spot for his space port?

Another question is are there any ties with NASA?

It's hot, it's in a good position geographically and the land is cheap.

I say use Vandenberg or the Cape - not as likely to hit people on ground when something goes boom. Plus there is already the infrastructure in place for launching the birds as well as the know how to do it....

virgin galactic,i don't understand why it has to be underground

Mr. Branson, being very wealthy, and sophisticated knows that his clients to be, will also be among the top 1%. What better place to cater to the super rich than a very laid back, arty, beautiful and hip "land of enchantment" with an areo/space infrastructure already in place. However, I bet he could get some good deals in Louisiana about now.

It's hot, it's in a good position geographically and the land is cheap.

Don't forget....little chance of weather affecting your launch...

Originally posted by chinabean
virgin galactic,i don't understand why it has to be underground

Well two real reasons I can see,

1. The "wow/aw" factor, of being underground.
2. If something crashes, well it's safer to be underground than in a building on the surface, sorta reminescent of how a bunker protects you.

Originally posted by iori_komei

Originally posted by chinabean
virgin galactic,i don't understand why it has to be underground

Well two real reasons I can see,

1. The "wow/aw" factor, of being underground.
2. If something crashes, well it's safer to be underground than in a building on the surface, sorta reminescent of how a bunker protects you.

ahh that's agreeable

Heres a thread that discusses it.

Virgin Galactic's spaceliner

Its underground only for looks and PR. Not because its safer.

If the thing falls outta the sky and becomes uncontrollable, and the VERY odd chance of it heading towards the main complex and hitting it, would cause a lot of damage and kill people, but that end result would be the same whether is was above ground or under ground.

I'm sure there were several major factors that are the reason he’s building it in the US, versus Europe.

--Money, is a big one, there’s a lot more rich people in America.
--The Co-funder is Paul Allen, who funded the SpaceShipOne craft, he lives in America.
--The builder, Scaled Composites is based in America.

etc. etc. Its just makes more sense. Not to mention there could be some laws about building it in another country, regarding the tech used in its construction.

and No, there’s no ties to Nasa, its all private. Which was the entire point of the X-Prize competition if you recall.