Spaceport America boasts some impressive credentials, not least the fact that it was the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the US Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, has a rocket-friendly environment, access to 6000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 3658 m x 61 m runway, a vertical launch area, and it averages about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity. ROOM Editor-in-Chief Clive Simpson met up with Scott McLaughlin, Spaceport America’s Executive Director, at this year’s Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
What is the background to Spaceport America and how did it come into being?
It was funded by the state of New Mexico with the plan of creating a multi-function base for space operations, for more than just its famous customer, Virgin Galactic. After receiving legislative approval in 2006, the ‘Southwest Regional Spaceport’, later renamed Spaceport America, was little more than a separate area for vertical launches by UP Aerospace, a sub-orbital transportation corporation.
