Virgin Galactic, the foundational tenant at Spaceport America, unveiled its completed first and second floors at a news conference. In addition, the WhiteKnightTwo or VMS Eve as she is affectionately named, transitioned flight operations to Spaceport America earlier this week in preparation for the launch of commercial spaceflights.
"New Mexico is on the edge of its seat as Virgin Galactic continues to make progress here," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. "It's been thrilling to watch. The space sector is an enormous growth opportunity, a perfect example of the economic diversification we will continue to pursue, and we are committed to seeing through the continued growth and evolution of this industry. Each step Virgin Galactic takes this year in New Mexico brings us closer to the stars."
“Today’s Virgin Galactic unveiling is the next step of moving the aerospace industry forward in New Mexico and is a vital step toward commercial space flight from Spaceport America,” said Daniel Hicks, Spaceport America CEO. “Virgin Galactic has made tremendous progress in their spaceline development here at Spaceport America. We are honored to have Virgin Galactic moving their operations—as well as their top-notch support aircraft—fully to New Mexico.”
Highlights of Virgin Galactic’s completed development include:
- The Friends & Family Lounge has been completed. The space will be home to the friends and families of the future astronauts so they can watch people launch into space.
- The Operations Control Area is complete. Guests got a sneak preview. See the enclosed b -roll to see it yourself at https://www.image.net/virgingalactic
- WhiteKnightTwo has arrived at Spaceport America and is continuing to perform test flights.
Some of the most respected companies in the commercial space industry are customers at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, Boeing, UP Aerospace, HyperSciences, EXOS Aerospace, and SpinLaunch. To date, there have been more than 301 vertical launches at Spaceport America.
ABOUT SPACEPORT AMERICA
Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, has a rocket friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace – surface to unlimited, low population density, a 12,000-foot spaceway, and 340 days of sunshine and low humidity.
