Spaceport gets a brand-new name
Jul. 17--ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Sporting little more than a small concrete launch pad and a cluster of portable buildings, New Mexico's spaceport is a far cry from NASA's Kennedy Space Center -- a 144,000-acre city of buildings, launch pads and runways with its own ZIP code.
But spaceport backers are thinking big...really big.
State officials today, while attending a major European aerospace show, plan to announce a sweeping new name that seeks to capitalize on New Mexico's status as home to the country's first hub for commercial space flight and tourism.
Introducing: Spaceport America.
"This is an international project, it puts New Mexico in a leadership role in this new industry, and we need to be very strong about saying that," Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans told the Journal in an interview. "We wanted to be expansive and visionary with the name."
Spaceport America replaces the former moniker for the 27-acre facility south of Truth or Consequences: Southwest Regional Spaceport.
"We didn't want to be parochial or limiting in the name," Homans said.
At a big trade fair The planned $200 million spaceport, on the western edge of the White Sands Missile Range, will play front and center in the state's booth at the annual Farnborough International Airshow, which begins today and runs through Sunday in Hampshire, England. Several New Mexico aerospace-related companies are set to join the Economic Development Department, the state's Office of International Trade, Albuquerque Economic Development and recruiter the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership at the biennial event, one of the world's largest aircraft and space vehicle trade fairs.
This year's event has a special focus on space travel. Recent high-profile announcements, such as tycoon Richard Branson's decision to locate the headquarters of his nascent space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, in New Mexico, have brought unprecedented attention to commercial space ventures. Spurred by 2004's Ansari X Prize for manned, commercial space flight, a growing number of entrepreneurs have unveiled plans to launch everything from people to middle school science projects and personal mementos to the far reaches of Earth's atmosphere. Several have said they plan to do so from New Mexico.
"New Mexico's absence would be noticed if we didn't make some kind of appearance," Homans said.
Branson and other Virgin Galactic officials helped the state come up with the name, said Economic Development Department spokeswoman Katie Roberts.
Spaceport backers will also unveil a new interactive Web site aimed at assisting various commercial space companies in learning about Spaceport America and seek input.
New Mexico is one of about a dozen states -- several of which are also developing commercial spaceports -- attending the Farnborough show today. Representatives from the X Prize Cup, an annual commercial space exposition that began in Las Cruces last year, as well as Virgin Galactic, will also be on hand to promote Spaceport America and the state's aerospace initiatives.
A handful of local companies also plan to attend with the state, including Rio Rancho-based AeroParts Manufacturing & Repair and Albuquerque's Ultramain Systems, a developer of software used by airlines and other companies to track scheduled maintenance.
N.M. businesses AeroParts makes sheet-metal components and does FAA-certified parts repair for airlines, cargo companies and other commercial aviation interests. It also makes some parts, such as door sills, for Albuquerque's Eclipse Aviation.
The company, which consolidated in Albuquerque 13 years ago from California and Texas, hopes to expand its international customer base at the show, said CEO Dean Leavengood.
"We've been building our international business," he said. "We feel there's also an opportunity with the European airlines and manufacturers" at Farnborough.
Another Albuquerque company, embedded computing and "black box" developer Management Sciences Inc., was scheduled to attend with the state but will instead be represented by one of its partners, a major aerospace company.
Management Sciences vice president Ken Blemel said the airshow would serve as a "debutante ball" for New Mexico and its business opportunities.
Doing it 'right' "We really do have the spaceport, and we really do have Eclipse, so they're really trying to do this right," he said.
During the show, Homans and executives from the design and architectural companies planning the spaceport will meet with Federal Aviation Administration officials, who are closely watching the spaceport's development.
Meanwhile, the first launch, a small, cargo rocket owned by Connecticut-based UP Aerospace, is set for August, and data gained from that launch will be used in the state's application for FAA licensure. It will carry small, experimental payloads from businesses and universities, including New Mexico State University.