Tag Archive for 'Spaceport America'Page 2 of 3

New Mexico Update: Otera Residents to Vote on Tax Levy in November

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Doug
on August 24, 2008
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Spaceport tax question will appear on Otero County ballot
Alamogordo Daily News

“The Otero County Commission heard a presentation and some citizen discussion prior to adopting a resolution to place a County Spaceport Regional Gross Receipts tax on the November ballot Thursday night.

“If approved, tax collections in Otero County would be combined with those already approved for collection in Doña Ana and Sierra counties to help fund construction of a launch site for commercial space vehicles in southern Sierra County. Construction for the $198 million project is to be completed in late 2010.

Lockheed Launches Spaceplane Prototype in NM; Spaceport America Predicts Launches in Q1 2009

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Doug
on August 13, 2008
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Lockheed Martin conducted another test flight of a winged space vehicle from Spaceport America on Tuesday, LiveScience’s Leonard David reports. A press release is reproduced below.

UPDATE: David reports that the prototype went out of control and was damaged to the point that it cannot be reused.

Spaceport America Press Release

LAS CRUCES, NM – New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials announced a successful launch of a test flight vehicle for Lockheed Martin by UP Aerospace from Spaceport America on Tuesday, August 12. The brief test flight was a non-public, unpublished event at the request of Lockheed Martin, who is testing proprietary advanced launch technologies.

“Today’s launch successfully lifted off at 7 a.m. local time at the beginning of our three-hour launch window. We are very pleased to be a small business partner with Lockheed Martin on their research and development technology programs by supplying low-cost, fast turnaround launch operation,“ said UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson. Today’s launch represents additional progress for Lockheed Martin, which did preliminary launch testing at the Spaceport in December 2007.

The latest launch represents yet another successful experience at Spaceport America, the nation’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. “We are extremely pleased to host another launch by UP Aerospace, which continues to set the precedent for safe, practical commercial spaceflight at Spaceport America,” said NMSA Executive Director Steve Landeene. “The aerospace community increasingly understands the benefits offered by Spaceport America.”

Spaceport America is the nation’s first purpose-built commercial space facility. Spaceport America holds great promise for New Mexico’s economic future, and has been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Lockheed Martin, UP Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Microgravity Enterprises and Payload Specialties. With planning moving along rapidly, the NMSA currently projects that licensed vertical launches can begin in the first quarter of 2009 and that the terminal and hangar facility for horizontal launches should be completed by 2010.

New Mexico Sportsmen Question Impact of Spaceport America on Wildlife

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Doug
on August 9, 2008
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Sportsmen dispute results of spaceport impact study
Las Cruces Sun-News

“Sportsmen in Doña Ana County said Thursday a draft environmental study for a proposed spaceport is problematic because it fails to adequately consider impacts to wildlife.

“Members of four sportsmen and wildlife groups spoke up at public hearing hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration. The session was meant to solicit feedback on a draft environmental study completed last month by the agency.

“‘The big disagreement is they find there’s no significant impact,’ said Angel Montoya, representing the Doña Ana County Associated Sportsmen.’”

Greetings from New Mexico: Spaceport Project Moves Ahead

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Doug
on July 7, 2008
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Las Crucen to guide spaceport
Las Cruces Sun-News

Las Cruces native Daniela Glick has been appointed chairwoman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, Gov. Bill Richardson’s office announced Thursday. Glick now serves as the deputy cabinet secretary of the Economic Development Department. Kelly O’Donnell, who formerly served as spaceport authority chairwoman, will now focus on her job as superintendent of the state’s Regulation and Licensing Department, according to Richardson spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos.

Bidding process begins for spaceport road improvements
Las Cruces Sun-News

The New Mexico Department of Transportation has begun the bid process for Spaceport America road improvements. On June 21, NMDOT began accepting bids for improving County Road AO13 from Engle in Sierra County, south the intersection of AO13 and AO39, which is the entrance to the spaceport.

Support a Presidential Candidate, Help Fund Space Joyrides for Millionaires

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Doug
on June 19, 2008
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Richardson’s presidential campaign donated to help get spaceport tax passed
Jose L. Medina
Las Cruces Sun-News

Gov. Bill Richardson’s unsuccessful presidential campaign was the largest contributor to a political action committee that pushed for passage of a spaceport tax referendum in Sierra County last April…The Richardson for President campaign gave $10,000 to People for Aerospace of Sierra County on April 8, two weeks before the April 22 vote in which Sierra residents overwhelmingly approved the tax, clearing the way for a spaceport taxation district.

April Schmidlapp, who worked to defeat Sierra’s tax, said she feels the vote was bought. She said a loosely organized group of tax opponents at most spent “a couple thousand dollars.”

“It’s all part of a group in (Truth or Consequences) that just bullies its way through decision-making and gets what they want done,” she said.

What Spaceport doesn’t mean
Saturn Noriega
Alamogordo Daily News

Steve Landeene, executive director of the N.M. Spaceport Authority, says the port will create 2,500 jobs generating more than $1 billion in economic growth. If each job represents a new family (Mom/Dad/Child) you get 7,500 new people. Add some 3,500 more to supply that growth with services and consumables, and the total jumps to 11,000 (all estimates, of course).

I do not feel one-third of those jobs will come to Otero. Maybe not even one will, unless it’s a local who is lucky enough to land a SP job and is willing to drive over the St. Augustin Pass then 50 miles north of Las Cruces on a four-hour daily trek, rather than move nearer the SP.

Spaceports: Florida Makes Pitch to Orbital, Baikonur Agreement Reached, and NM Moves Ahead

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Doug
on May 31, 2008
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Orbital Sciences Corp. seems to be taking its time in making a decision about where it will launch its new Taurus II rocket. WNDT-TV reports that officials at Wallops Island on are anxiously awaiting a decision on whether Orbital will stay in its home state of Virginia or go south to Florida.

Meanwhile, 20 members of Florida’s Congressional delegation have released a statement urging Orbital to locate its new launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center.

In other news:

  • Russia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement concerning joint cooperation in space exploration and the continued use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
  • Officials in New Mexico are moving ahead with plans to create a tax district to support development of Spaceport America.

Parabolas: Space Property Rights, Rails to Space, and New Mexico Moves Forward

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Doug
on May 19, 2008
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The Boston Globe’s Drake Bennett takes a look at lunar property rights and other space settlement issues in a story titled, “My space: If we really want to explore space, maybe we should sell it off to the highest bidders.”

Writing for The Sunday Times, Mike Peake is worried that Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flights will replicate the experience with one of the billionaire’s other travel ventures.

“To get an idea of what the flight into space will really be like, you have to extrapolate from the experience of riding on one of Beardie’s Virgin trains. They’ll have closed the buffet before you even arrive in space and then the craft will be kept in a holding stack for four hours before you can land, during which time the air-conditioning will be switched off and the air will smell like the steam from a pressure cooker full of cabbage. Then, when you write to Branson at Necker Island to complain, you’ll get an automated reply from the customer services department in Slough.”

Speaking of which, New Mexico officials are pushing ahead with plans to build Spaceport America, where  Virgin Galactic is set to become an anchor tenant. Next up: a public vote in Otera County on a tax increase to support construction. The Alamogordo Daily News has the latest. The Las Cruces Sun-News also has an update here.

Sierra County Voters Approve Spaceport America Tax

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Doug
on April 22, 2008
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Voters in Sierra County overwhelmingly approved an increase in the sales tax to help fund Spaceport America, New Mexico’s ambitious effort to build a gateway to the stars.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that 65 percent of voters approved the .25 cent tax increase, a wider margin than some had predicted. The 42 percent turnout was the highest ever for a special election.

“I’m feeling good,” New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene said. “It’s been an emotional day and obviously the outcome is a very positive emotion.”

The approval means that a taxation district can be formally established with Dona Ana County, whose residents narrowly approved the tax increase last year. Voters in neighboring Otera County will go to the polls in November.

New Mexico hopes the spaceport will be used for a variety of purposes, most prominently to send tourists on suborbital flights. The state is in negotiations with London-based Virgin Galactic to be an anchor tenant.

Quiet NM Town Divided on Eve of Crucial Spaceport Vote

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Doug
on April 20, 2008
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The small, quiet town of Truth or Consequences, NM - best known for its thriving arts community and its access to hot springs and the state’s largest lake - has been thrust into the center of a debate over our future in space.

On Tuesday, voters in this community of 7,000 will help decide the fate of Spaceport America, New Mexico’s ambitious effort to build a gateway to the heavens. Residents in T or C and throughout Sierra County will vote on a .25 cent increase in the gross receipts tax to help fund the $198 million facility in the southern part of the county. A “yes” vote is crucial to forming a tax district with neighboring Doña Ana and Otera counties.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the vote could go either way. A pro-spaceport tax group, People for Aerospace, has been campaigning heavily throughout Sierra County, promoting the project’s economic benefits. However, other residents have opposed the tax increase, placing anti-tax signs on T or C streets and staging a rally over the weekend.

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Spaceport America Plans Educational Launch Competition

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Doug
on April 19, 2008
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NMSA PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2008

UPHAM, NM — The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) today announced intentions to create a new venture between the NMSA, the Air Force, higher education, and the private sector to create a competitive educational launch program for students in public schools and universities.

The program is envisioned to be a collaborative effort between the NMSA, the Air Force Research Lab Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base (AFRL), the X-Prize Foundation, the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium at New Mexico State University (NMSG), UP Aerospace and Microgravity Enterprises, Inc. (MEI), all of which have demonstrated support for Spaceport America, the nation’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

NMSA Executive Director Steve Landeene looks forward to creating the launch competition for the 2008-2009 academic year. “The spaceport is all about finding new, innovative ways to access space, and inspiring today’s young minds to meet tomorrow’s challenges,” Landeene said. “It is a part of fulfilling Spaceport America’s educational mission.”

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