
Ten years ago, New Mexico released an economic impact study conducted by the Futron Corporation that assessed the potential benefits of Spaceport America and the state’s newly announced partnership with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.
“The suborbital market features a strong increase in launches because of growing demand for space tourism, with the potential number of launches from the New Mexico spaceport increasing from 61 in 2010 to 426 in 2020,” the report states. “Futron estimates that the spaceport has the potential to provide the basis for creating approximately $460 million of additional economic activity in New Mexico, with some 3,460 new jobs in 2015.”