14 DAY TRIAL // Who would have thought just a few decades ago that space flight would be ramping up so abruptly? We're talking about sending probes and landers anywhere in the solar system and far beyond, or even going to the Moon or Mars. And with things evolving at such a fast pace, who can tell what we'll be able to do half a century from now? This is what Spaceport America is preparing for, and it seems Christmas has come earlier for the project.
The positive report on the project's environmental impact was expected to be carried, but not as fast as it did. The fact that it was completed and approved so soon enabled the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a license for horizontal and vertical landing for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA). With the paperwork done, the actual construction of the futuristic site of the airport can finally begin.
“We could not pursue anything on site until this record of decision was received,” shared Steven Landeene, Executive Director of NMSA, in a press release, but now "We are on track to begin construction in the first quarter of 2009, and have our facility completed as quickly as possible,” he added. In this respect, a lease agreement with the spaceport's anchor tenant company, Virgin Galactic, is to be signed before the end of this year. There has also been a fruitful collaboration with leading companies such as Lockheed Martin, Rocket Racing Inc./Armadillo Aerospace, UP Aerospace, Microgravity Enterprises and Payload Specialties.
Wyle Laboratories' Life Sciences Group, also assisting NASA's human space program, will place their expertise in data and risk management, training, medical screening, mission and ground operations support in the service of Spaceport America. In January, the roads, runway and security building works will be subject to bids, followed by the hangar and terminal when the design phase is ready, sometime next spring. The building operations are expected to be completed by 2010.