LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Work is underway to design and construct the first "purpose-built" spaceport
to handle passenger and payload launches to the edge of space and into Earth
orbit.
New
Mexico's Spaceport America is seen as one gateway in a community of gateways built not
only in the United States but globally. Suborbital craft that jump
point-to-point between spaceports could be a blossoming enterprise to support
vacation travelers, as well as a host of other businesses.
But
before such visionary operations start, there are challenges to deal with
before the planet is dotted with spaceports. Appropriate regulations will be
required to govern the development of these facilities for one. Much work is
ahead in operating and maintaining vehicles that will fly from these gateways
to space.
Spaceport
advocates met at the 2nd International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight, held
here this week prior to the Wirefly X Prize Cup competitions slated for October
20-21 at the Las Cruces International Airport.
Regularly scheduled flights
A
progress report on Spaceport America was given by Rick Homans, Cabinet
Secretary, New Mexico Economic Development Department and Chairman of Spaceport
America.
Homans
said that the plan is to break ground at the spaceport in late 2007. The site
is 30 miles east of Truth or Consequences and 45 miles north of Las Cruces. Spaceport America is expected to cost a total of some $225 million to
construct.
Followed
by several years of building, Spaceport America would be up and running to
handle British billionaire Sir Richard Branson's suborbital spaceliner
operations flying under the Virgin Galactic flag.
"By
2010 we expect to be launching Virgin Galactic on regularly scheduled flights
to space from New Mexico at one or two times a week," he said, later ramping up
to several times a day.
Homans
said that Spaceport America will handle other tenants too. Cargo and passenger
flights to the International Space Station will depart from the facility, "and
soon thereafter to the Moon," he added.
Democratization of space travel
A
blending of talents will be needed to satisfy the interests of many
stakeholders, said John O'Connor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMJM
Aviation - the engineering and architectural firm now designing Spaceport America.
O'Connor
said that 22 individual categories of spaceport facilities have already been
defined. These include a passenger terminal complex, airfield, ground
facilities, hangars, emergency response buildings; a public viewing site, as
well as mission and launch control, air traffic control facilities and
facilities for training.
Work
is underway to best characterize the needs of both horizontal and vertical take
off and landing vehicles, O'Connor noted. Furthermore, the entire Spaceport America initiative, he said, is taking into account the construction of an environmentally-sensitive
space hub.
O'Connor
said that some parts of Spaceport America may be underground, as well as make
use of wind, solar energy. Also to be put in place is a conservative strategy
for use of precious water resources, he said.
"It's
a complex undertaking," O'Connor observed. "What we're talking about with the
spaceport is the democratization of space travel," he concluded.
Forecast: world's busiest spaceport
The
worlds first purpose-built spaceport is a business-oriented spaceport, said
Lonnie Sumpter, Executive Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
Work
toward a spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration's space
transportation office is on track, Sumpter said, expected to be in hand
approximately at this time next year.
"As
soon as we have the license, we'll start construction of the spaceport,"
Sumpter said, with the goal of completing the facility roughly in 2010.
Spaceport
America will be a phased construction project. During its build-up, limited
launch operations will be undertaken.
On-line
in 2010, Spaceport America "will be well on its way, we think, to becoming the
busiest space launch facility in the world," Sumpter explained.
Unknown unknowns
Stu
Witt, Director of the inland spaceport at Mojave, California - the locale of
the pioneering flights of the piloted suborbital SpaceShipOne and the construction
of the customer-carrying SpaceShipTwo - saluted New Mexico's ability to make
the spaceport a state initiative.
In
looking forward to the evolution of spaceports, Witt cautioned that he sees "a
lot of unknown unknowns."
Witt
advised spaceport planners in New Mexico to be wary of encroachment to now
remote stretches of land - from houses to convenience stores and other sprawl.
"Encroachments
kill airports," Witt warned.
Spaceports
will be the scene of research, flight test, and certification of people-carrying
spaceships, Witt said, hopefully leading to a commercial phase. But mishaps are
sure to occur, he said.
"We'll
also have to go through a 'prove it' phase," Witt continued, with a minimum of
30 to 40 successful flights, he felt, to meet test points that are repeatable
and sustainable.
"There
are some huge unknown unknowns out in front of us that we must prove as a
collective industry as we go forward. We must build responsibly," Witt said.
"Hopefully, if we're successful, we will dot the landscape with spaceports," he
concluded.
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