As expected, Virgin Galactic signed a 20-year lease agreement with the state last week that locks the company into paying rent at Spaceport America and frees up tens of millions of dollars in funding to ensure the facility will actually be built.
The company says it plans to locate its world headquarters in New Mexico and fly paying customers into suborbital space from the spaceport, which is located about 40 miles north of Las Cruces.
“The signing of this agreement is a momentous day for our state and has cemented New Mexico as the home of commercial space travel,” Gov. Bill Richardson said in a news release announcing the lease last week. “I want to thank Virgin Galactic for partnering with us to create a whole new industry that is going to transform the economy of southern New Mexico — creating thousands of jobs, generating money for education, boosting tourism and attracting other companies and economic opportunities to the area.”
The signing of the lease came days after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a long-anticipated license to the state to operate the commercial spaceport, leaving the lease as the last condition placed on much of the funding for the facility by the state Legislature and the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners.
Design of the spaceport is nearly complete, and officials say construction will begin early next year.
The signing of the lease coincides with the beginning of the test flying program for Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo launch vehicle, which got underway this month in Mojave, Calif. WhiteKnightTwo will serve as the mother ship for SpaceShipTwo, the vehicle that Virgin Galactic says will carry commercial astronauts into space.
“We are really looking forward to making Spaceport America and New Mexico the home and worldwide headquarters of Virgin Galactic,” Jonathan Firth, Virgin Galactic projects and operations director, said in the release from the governor’s office. “The state has all the right elements for a successful commercial space operation, including weather, clear airspace, beautiful scenery, great people and a fantastic location and design for Spaceport America.”