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Ground breaks on world’s first spaceport
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Artist rendering of Spaceport America
Two years after it was announced, construction will finally begin Friday on ‘Spaceport America’ in New Mexico. The spaceport will be used for commercial space flight from such start ups as Richard branson’s Virgin Galactic. Construction on the 18,000 acre, $198 million venture will be kicked off with a big bash, which is open to the public.
The site of the spaceport is north of Las Cruces in New Mexico and will be the center of commercial space flight in coming years, which has been a dream that many of us have waited a long time for. Spaceport America is being funded by the state of New Mexico.
Virgin Galactic currently has two ships, White Knight 2 and Spaceship 2, and has already sold out at least the first 200 seats for $200,000 a piece. If all goes to plan, the price will drop dramatically in a few years. The flight takes you up into lower orbit where you’ll experience 6 minutes of weightlessness and have breathtaking views of earth.
The futuristic design came from Foster and Partners. Steven Landeene said they wanted to "create a spaceport facility that's environmentally friendly, having a look and feel that's unique and like nothing that's ever been done before.”
Time will tell if the spaceport is a success or not, and if so, how cheap commercial space flight will become in the next few years. Virgin Galactic has done test flights and hope to be taking customers up by next year. Regardless, finally putting a shovel into the ground is a big step in the progress of space tourism.
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