Science fiction fans finally have a chance to celebrate the groundbreaking of Spaceport America, described in a Reuters article as “the world’s first facility built specifically for space-bound commercial customers and fee-paying passengers.” Appropriately, the SpacePort will be built in New Mexico, the state in which aliens purportedly landed in 1947 (at Roswell). Impressively, the State of New Mexico will be footing the $198 million project.
SpacePort America, when it’s built, will become the home base for British tycoon Richard Branson’s space tours firm, Virgin Galactic. Interested passengers will have the opportunity to plunk down a cool $200,000 for a ride into suborbital space.
Branson has long envisioned a space tourism industry, and is quoted as saying: “This groundbreaking ceremony is an important step toward our goal of being at the forefront of a vibrant new, commercial space industry.” Branson’s legendary business acumen, we hope, is still as sharp as ever, since the businessman plans to put $300 million into the development of a space launch system.
Interested in booking a space flight? Now is the right time to make your reservation. Flights will begin from the SpacePort in two years, and, not surprisingly, there’s already a 300-person waiting list.