Director: New Mexico spaceport positioned for next frontier

At what was once a remote desert outpost with spotty cell service and little infrastructure other than the shell of a quarter-billion-dollar futuristic hangar, Christine Anderson has watched the transformation of Spaceport America from her office window.

Even though commercial flights at Spaceport America have yet to begin, Anderson — executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority — says her job is done as the spaceport stands ready for anchor tenant Virgin Galactic and other companies working in the industry.

Some state legislators called for pulling the plug, adding fuel to criticisms that the project — first initiated by former Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, and British billionaire Richard Branson — was a boondoggle.

After beefing up its business plan more than a year ago, the spaceport has attracted new customers and hosted events for the public.

The goal is to have operations paid entirely by lease revenues and other user fees given that the state and taxpayers in southern New Mexico already have contributed about $220 million to construct what is the nation's first purpose-built spaceport.

Another six rocket launches are planned over the next six months, and the spaceport is readying to serve as a base for a major project with Boeing and the adjacent White Sands Missile Range as researchers work on a transportation system that can shuttle cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.

Stretching across 28 square miles of the Jornada del Norte desert basin north of Las Cruces, the spaceport also benefits from thousands of square miles of restricted air space belonging to the missile range.

Anderson, who spent 30 years with the U.S. Air Force as a civilian before heading up the spaceport authority, said the one thing she'll miss is being in the front row as the burgeoning industry grows.