Spaceport America Takes Off

SeaDour writes "Spaceport America, being built north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, is finally becoming a reality and is set to become the world's first commercial spaceport. Governor Bill Richardson recently secured 33 million dollars from the state legislature for the final design, and a proposed 0.25% sales tax increase in Dona Ana County, where the facility is to be constructed, is expected to bring an additional 6.5 million dollars per year (if approved by voters next week). Richard Branson, the head of upstart Virgin Galactic, on Monday agreed to lease the facility for 27.5 million dollars over twenty years. If all continues to go as planned, SpaceShipTwo will make its first suborbital joy ride in two to three years."

Comments

27 million over 20 years?

[stratjakt]

Sounds like cheap rent.

When Virgin Galactic needs a space port, they can build one. Why is tax money building this?

PURE PORK BARREL BULLSHIT.

I'd much rather have this..

[Steveftoth]

then a war in Iraq. I'd much rather have something ten times as expensive and doomed to failure then the war on terror or Iraq. It would be much cheaper. Why can't the govenment just build something here instead of destroying a nation all the way around the world?