Spaceport America

Spaceport America (formerly the Southwest Regional Spaceport) is a spaceport located in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin in New Mexico, United States west and north of the 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. Spaceport America was officially declared open on October 18, 2011.

The site has been described as "the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport".

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

History

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