Archive for the ‘Space Industry News’ Category

The March meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet.

The March Forum will feature a panel of local commercial real estate brokers and developers discussing the local commercial real estate market and opportunities in a changing market. Panel members will include:

• John L. Hummer, Owner/Broker with Steinborn TCN Commercial Real Estate;
• Gil Jones, Associate Broker with NAI 1^st Valley Commercial Real Estate;
• Donnie Brainard, President/Qualifying Broker with Alameda Property Group; and
• Rick Stoes, Managing Director for Grubb & Ellis.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. The meeting is open to the public. A large turnout is expected so reservations are recommended. Please confirm your attendance to ensure proper space will be available by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852.

The NMSU College of Engineering and the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium are sponsoring NASA’s “Driven to Explore” exhibit on Wednesday, January 20 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.  The exhibit will be on the NMSU Campus, between Goddard Hall and Thomas and Brown Hall, adjacent to the Horseshoe.

The exhibit is a mobile multimedia experience showcasing the Shuttle Program, the progress of the International Space Station and benefits of space exploration leading into NASA’s next major program, Constellation. The walking tour includes breathtaking imagery and state-of-the-art models of the Constellation Program’s next-generation launch vehicles and human spacecraft destined for use to explore the moon and beyond.

Driven to Explore has no admission charge and is designed for all ages and venues. The exhibit is wheelchair accessible. Touring the exhibit takes approximately 10 minutes.

See the attached map for directions and parking information.

For more information, contact Linda Fresques, 575-646-2913; fresque@nmsu.edu.

Sir Richard Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

Release Courtesy of Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic

LAS CRUCES - The world’s first manned commercial spaceship will be unveiled today in Mojave, California, and is projected to be flying from New Mexico’s Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, in 2011.

Today’s debut of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceship is to be attended by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as well as New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene and other representatives of Spaceport America, the world headquarters of Virgin Galactic’s operations.

After a rigorous testing schedule, SS2 and its mothership, WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) will begin regular flying operations out of Spaceport America by some time in 2011. Spaceport America is currently under construction in New Mexico and is expected to be completed by early 2011.

For the complete press release from Virgin Galactic and accompanying photos, please visit the Virgin Galactic website.

A story featuring Spaceport America in Time Magazine is on newsstands today.  Entitled “Postcard from Las Cruces,” the story is written by former Life Magazine and People Magazine Editor Richard Stolley.

Spaceport America Architect's Rendering

The story provides some of the historical background of the development of Spaceport America, including the agreement between Sir Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to make Spaceport America headquarters for Branson’s Virgin Galactic.

This story’s timing is great for Spaceport America because it’s coming out just before the December 7th Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rollout in Mojave, Ca.

To read the entire story follow the “Postcard from Las Cruces” link above.

Article Courtesy of Spaceport America

UPHAM, NM - New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials announced a successful launch of a test flight vehicle for Lockheed Martin by UP Aerospace from Spaceport America on Saturday, October 10. The brief test flight was a non-public, unpublished event at the request of Lockheed Martin, who is testing proprietary advanced launch technologies. “Saturday’s launch successfully lifted off at 9:45 a.m. during our four-hour launch window,” said UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson.  “This is our third launch for Lockheed Martin from Spaceport America, which is proving to be an ideal location for supplying low-cost, fast-turnaround launch operations.” UP Aerospace plans to double its number of customer launches from Spaceport America to six or more in 2010 as demand for the company’s services increases.

The latest launch represents yet another successful launch from Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. NMSA Executive Director Steve Landeene said, “We are extremely pleased to host another launch by UP Aerospace, the third this year, which continues to set the precedent for safe, practical commercial spaceflight at Spaceport America.” Earlier this year, UP Aerospace provided services for the New Mexico Education Launch on May 2, an event sponsored by the NMSA and the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium. On August 4, UP Aerospace had a successful launch for Moog-FTS, and Saturday’s launch was the third. UP Aerospace first launched from Spaceport America in September 2006.

Currently under construction, Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial space facility. Spaceport America has been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight. Spaceport America’s 10,000-foot long runway is now under construction and is expected to be complete by late summer 2010 with the Terminal Hangar Facility projected to be complete by early 2011.