{"id":417359,"date":"2017-09-01T12:07:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T18:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=417359"},"modified":"2017-09-12T09:56:12","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T15:56:12","slug":"cautious-optimism-about-spaceport-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/09\/cautious-optimism-about-spaceport-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Cautious optimism about Spaceport America"},"content":{"rendered":"

COMMENTARY:\u00a0<\/strong>I wasn\u2019t expecting to find positive news when I began my journalistic investigation of Spaceport America in March. The delays in getting Virgin Galactic\u2019s customers into space and other problems had built a public perception that the project may be a boondoggle.<\/p>\n

\"Heath

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

The situation that sparked my investigation heightened my skepticism. Two spaceport staffers called me, said they wanted to answer my questions, and then wouldn\u2019t answer questions about finances. Red flag raised<\/a>. Public records requests filed.<\/p>\n

But as I dissected the spaceport\u2019s claim that it was having a positive impact on New Mexico\u2019s economy, I discovered reason for optimism<\/a>. Economists were impressed. The spaceport has signed leases with four companies besides Virgin Galactic and held events like the Spaceport America Cup, a rocket-launching competition that brought 1,100 college students to southern New Mexico in June.<\/p>\n

Kevin Boberg, New Mexico State University\u2019s vice president for economic development, said Spaceport America appears \u201cto be on course to begin realizing some of the aspirations folks had so many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a native New Mexican who\u2019s raising my daughter here, I want the spaceport to succeed. We must diversify and grow our economy. Our children need more in-state opportunities.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be clear about a couple of things: The public\u2019s investment of more than $220 million in the spaceport hasn\u2019t yet created the 5,000 jobs officials promised a decade ago. I also found serious transparency issues that raise questions about how the spaceport operates.<\/p>\n

You can find the results of my investigation online at NMPolitics.net<\/a>. Give it a read.<\/p>\n

In short, the spaceport may be on the verge of becoming a transformative force in our economy. It may not. Here are some things to consider:<\/p>\n

\u2022 New Mexico had a jumpstart in the commercial space race a decade ago. We\u2019ve lost some of that competitive advantage as other states have invested big. But we\u2019re still in the game.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The spaceport is operating<\/a> with more money from companies that pay to use the facility (an estimated $4.5 million this fiscal year) than public money (about $1.2 million). That\u2019s encouraging.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0But the spaceport isn\u2019t sharing much about its incoming money. Its staff violated state transparency laws several times<\/a> during my investigation. The spaceport wants to hide<\/a> rent and other information about companies doing business there. That\u2019s not encouraging. The public shouldn\u2019t trust the spaceport without financial transparency. I won\u2019t. As Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, a non-voting member of the spaceport\u2019s board, put it, \u201c\u2026the financial viability of Spaceport America is the business of every New Mexican.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0There\u2019s no certainty Virgin Galactic will ever fly customers into space from New Mexico, but the company appears to be closer than it\u2019s ever been<\/a>. Such flights would bring new tech jobs here and spark tourism with high-dollar astronauts visiting for days at a time. I don\u2019t know if Virgin Galactic will succeed. But I am convinced people are working hard to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0While four other space companies have leases at the spaceport, Virgin Galactic is the biggie. A Virgin Galactic failure would be a huge blow to the spaceport\u2019s operating budget and public support for the project.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Building additional runways, hangars and other infrastructure could attract more companies. But I don\u2019t expect another big public investment unless Virgin Galactic gets into space. That promise led to New Mexico\u2019s initial spending on the spaceport.<\/p>\n

Today there\u2019s evidence that our investment is producing some results. If Virgin Galactic succeeds, the returns could grow. Let\u2019s see how it goes.<\/p>\n

Heath Haussamen<\/a>\u00a0is NMPolitics.net\u2019s editor and publisher.\u00a0Agree with his opinion? Disagree? We welcome your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In spite of the hope I found, the public shouldn\u2019t trust the spaceport without financial transparency. I won\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":383420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[118,141,706],"class_list":["post-417359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-economy","tag-spaceport-america","tag-transparency","series-spaceport-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}