Spaceport America

Spaceport America
Spaceport America terminal hangar facility
IATA: none ICAO: none FAA LID: 9NM9
Summary
Airport type	Private Commercial Spaceport
Owner/Operator	New Mexico Spaceport Authority
Location	Sierra County, New Mexico, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Hub for	Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, Payload Specialties
Elevation AMSL	4,595 ft / 1,401 m
Coordinates	32°59′25″N 106°58′11″W / 32.99028°N 106.96972°W / 32.99028; -106.96972Coordinates: 32°59′25″N 106°58′11″W / 32.99028°N 106.96972°W / 32.99028; -106.96972
Website	www.spaceportamerica.com
Map
Spaceport America Location within New Mexico
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 16/34 12,000 3,657 Concrete

Spaceport America is an FAA-licensed spaceport located on 18,000 acres (7,300 hectares) of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin in New Mexico, United States directly west and adjacent to U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range. It lies 89 miles (143 km) north of El Paso, 45 miles (72 km) north of Las Cruces, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Truth or Consequences.

The site has been described as "the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport" because it is the first spaceport designed and constructed specifically for commercial users that had not previously been an airport or federal infrastructure of any kind. The site is built to accommodate both vertical and horizontal launch aerospace vehicles, as well as an array of non-aerospace events and commercial activities. Spaceport America is owned and operated by the State of New Mexico, via a state agency, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.

Tenants of the spaceport include Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, while UP Aerospace and Armadillo Aerospace have all operated from the spaceport.

The site's major tenants have experienced problems—or change of plans—in development of their programs and technologies, resulting in spaceport revenue far below projections, and a political controversy about what to do with the expensive government-built spaceport. Spaceport America was officially declared open on October 18, 2011. and the site became fully accessible to the general public in June 24, 2015 with a paid tour known as the Spaceport America Experience.

Located in in southern New Mexico, Spaceport America is the result of over two decades of efforts to increase the commercial accessibility of spaceflight.

The spaceport's initial concept was proposed by Stanford University engineering lecturer and tech startup advisor Dr. Burton Lee in 1990. He wrote the initial business and strategic plans, secured US$1.4 million in seed funding via congressional earmarks with the help of Senator Pete Domenici, and worked with the New Mexico State University Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) to develop local support for the spaceport concept.