Description
Although not technically a factory tour we have included this tour because it offer a unique experience to see the evolution of the future of space travel. The tour details are below.

The unveiling of the Spaceport America brand shines light on a visionary project many years in the making. New Mexico?s weather and wide-open spaces have been ideal for the aerospace industry since Robert Goddard, the Father of Modern Rocketry, began conducting research in Roswell in the 1930s. He was followed by Wernher von Braun in the 1940s, and NASA in the 1980s.

By the early 1990s, a group of like-minded individuals called, the Southwest Space Task Force, felt the impetus to take New Mexico?s space industry to the next level: commercial space and reusable launch vehicles. Based on years of study, they zeroed in on 27 square-miles of state-owned land, 45 miles north of Las Cruces as a location for an inland spaceport. When Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Rick Homans took office in 2003, they went to him and pleaded their case.

Homans then picked up the torch, presenting the idea of a New Mexico spaceport to Governor Richardson, negotiating with the X Prize Foundation to locate the X Prize Cup in New Mexico, spearheading legislation to finance the spaceport, and most recently, recruiting four aerospace mavericks ? including Virgin Galactic ? to New Mexico.

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) announced that they will begin offering paid public hardhat tours of the Spaceport America construction site beginning December 2009.

The tours will highlight New Mexico history spanning from Spanish conquistadors and pioneer rocket research to the new commercial space industry. Tour participants will receive an on-site tour of the construction site including the runway and vertical launch facility. Tour details and reservation forms will be available on the Spaceport America website (www.spaceportamerica.com) by mid- November.

Guests will tour the construction site and the 10,000-foot runway that is currently under construction, as well as current launch facilities.

Spaceport America is the world's first purpose-built commercial space facility. Spaceport America has been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight. Spaceport America's 10,000-foot long runway is now under construction and is expected to be complete by late summer 2010 with the Terminal Hangar Facility projected to be complete by early 2011.