Spaceport America

Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, located in the high desert of southern New Mexico near Upham and Truth or Consequences. Constructed between 2006-2011, this $220 million facility serves as the home port for Virgin Galactic’s space tourism flights.

Situated on over 18,000 acres, Spaceport America has a 12,000-foot runway designated as Spaceport License Area 1. Its futuristic terminal hangar building features a large hangar door for roll-out and vertical take-off operations. Control rooms and administrative offices support launch activities.

Virgin Galactic conducts flight operations from the spaceport using its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and SpaceShipTwo rocket plane. The vehicles are designed to carry paying passengers and researchers on brief suborbital flights over 100 km to experience weightlessness and view the Earth’s curvature.

Beyond serving Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America aims to support a variety of commercial space companies and their missions including microgravity research, satellite deployment, and point-to-point transportation. Its remote desert location provides a safe area for testing and flying space vehicles.

As the era of commercial space tourism dawns, Spaceport America stands at the forefront pioneering new frontiers. The state-of-the-art facilities and operational capabilities make it an ideal launch and landing site for future public and private spaceflight activities.