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N.M. Plans Launchpad for Space Tourism
Branson said he hopes to begin scheduled suborbital trips in late 2008. The New Mexico facility will not be finished by then, so Virgin Galactic will operate from a desert airstrip in Mojave, Calif., until the spaceport is finished. Branson said his customers will receive Virgin frequent-flier miles, but not many because the flight is essentially up and down.
The spaceflights will give new meaning to waiting at the airport. Passengers will be required to arrive three days before takeoff for training sessions.
  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, left, and British entrepreneur Richard Branson hold a model of a proposed spacecraft. (By Rick Scibelli -- Getty Images) 
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Virgin said four states -- Florida, Texas, California and New Mexico -- competed to be the launchpad for the space tourism business.
Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn said New Mexico was chosen because of its dry, clear climate, its altitude and its large tracts of empty land without cities nearby. "To have nobody on the ground under the flights . . . will be helpful for liability-insurance reasons," he said.
The other advantage for Virgin is that the state is giving Branson's airline a new airport for very little cost. Virgin Galactic has agreed to pay rent of $1 million per year for 20 years for a facility that will cost about $250 million. New Mexico's commitment, Whitehorn said, should help convince Virgin's customers that the spaceflight business is a serious endeavor.
The spaceport will be located on 27 square miles near the desert town of Upham, in the southern part of the state, east of Truth or Consequences. The site is in the district of a Republican leader in the state Senate, a political fact that is expected to grease passage of funding for a Democratic governor's initiative.
"We'll get this through the legislature, that's a promise," said Ben Lujan (D), the state House speaker.
Richardson cited studies showing that the spaceport could produce about 3,000 new jobs in its first five years of operation.