Posts Tagged ‘Sierra County’

Release courtesy of Spaceport America

Photo courtesy of Fred Shepherd

LAS CRUCES, NM — The New Mexico Spaceport Authority has selected Follow The Sun, Inc., to conduct public Preview Tours of Spaceport America.

Spaceport America’s Preview Tours will feature guided, exclusive access to the spaceport and provide guests an up close and personal encounter with the spaceflight facilities only available during the current pre-operational phase. Guests will also learn the history and evolution of transportation and trade in the area from the Spanish pioneers and Native Americans of the past to the space pioneers of the future. The approximately three-hour experience gives guests an in-depth look at the scenic beauty and rugged ranges of New Mexico’s Old West, as well as man’s efforts to survive in the high desert.

“The company is thrilled for the enormous opportunity to provide exclusive tours of Spaceport America,” said Rose Bleth, president and founder of Follow the Sun. “What an honor”.  As part-time residents of Sierra County, Bleth and her business partner and husband Mark not only recognize the long-term business potential of spaceport tourism, but also see the endeavor as personally gratifying, explaining that they both “truly care about the community and the success that comes from Spaceport America. We want to make a difference, and our heart is in it as well.”

Tours will begin May 13, 2011, and will be conducted each Friday, Saturday and Sunday thereafter. Tour buses will depart twice daily, at 9 am and 1 pm. The guided tours will initially depart from both the Elephant Butte Inn, 401 New Mexico 195, Elephant Butte, NM; and across from Sunset Grill on 306 S. Pershing St., Truth or Consequences, NM. Expansion of tours to Las Cruces and Albuquerque is anticipated later this year.

Cost:  $59 for adults and $29 for children under 12. Reservations are required with a minimum of two guests per tour. Group discounts are available. For more information go to www.ftstours.com or call: 1-505-897-2886 or Toll Free: 1-866-428-4SUN (786)

About Follow the Sun, Inc.

Follow the Sun Inc., a woman-owned motorcoach and tour company based in Albuquerque, NM, has been showcasing the wonders of New Mexico to local, national and international clients since 2003. In addition to serving as the official tour operator for Spaceport America, the company offers a variety of charter, receptive and day tour services throughout the state featuring local, experienced guides and the highest level of customer service. Follow the Sun believes that it’s more than transportation and touring, it’s about taking care of people.

About Spaceport America

Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. The state-of-the-art launch facility is under construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and is expected to become fully operational in 2011. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Armadillo Aerospace, Moog-FTS, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on the promise of economic development to the people of New Mexico.

For more information, please visit: www.spaceportamerica.com

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – Squeezing in a stop here while en route to London, Virgin Galactic’s president and CEO told spaceport officials Tuesday that the company remains committed to basing its suborbital flight operations in New Mexico.

George Whitesides addressed the new board of directors of Spaceport America for the first time since an abrupt change in spaceport leadership that was carried out by Gov. Susana Martinez. It was also the first session attended by Spaceport Authority Executive Director Christine Anderson, hired last week by the board.

“The primary message we wanted to share, and the reason I’m here is to express a desire to continue to be a strong partner with the spaceport for the taxpayers of New Mexico,” Whitesides said. “We are all making a very big investment together.”

While addressing the board, Whitesides noted the state is planning to spend about $200 million in constructing the spaceport and said Virgin Galactic is “investing somewhere on the order of $400 million to develop its spaceflight vehicles.” “These are nontrivial investments,” he said. “We take this project very seriously at all levels. And the relationship between our organization and the state and particularly the Spaceport Authority and staff is going to be of critical importance as we drive to successful commercial operations over the coming years.”

Whitesides, a former chief of staff for NASA, was hired last year as CEO for Virgin Galactic, considered the spaceport’s anchor tenant company. This year, he was named president, too.

Spaceport board Chairman Rick Holdridge of Deming said he invited Whitesides to the board’s meeting during a teleconference soon after Anderson was hired on Feb. 28, and, “to his credit, he made it happen.” Holdridge said he didn’t pick up any new message Tuesday. “I very much appreciated his commitment to this new board,” he said. “They’re reiterating the commitment Virgin Galactic has to New Mexico in the form of having operations out of New Mexico.”

Virgin Galactic has signed a 20-year agreement with the state, committing to launch suborbital spaceflights from Spaceport America in southeastern Sierra County. Whitesides said the company is “very encouraged with the progress of Spaceport America.”

Construction of the $209 million spaceport is about 70 to 80 percent complete, Chad Rabon, a spaceport staff member, told the board Tuesday.

Martinez didn’t waste time making spaceport leadership changes upon taking office Jan. 1. She called for the resignations of the previous board, appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson, and former Director Rick Homans. The board was reappointed in February, but the abruptness of the change and the fact the agency was without a director or deputy director had stirred concern among some spaceport advocates. Martinez confirmed that at one point, billionaire Richard Branson – who heads Virgin Group, the parent company of Virgin Galactic – called and asked her to retain Homans as director.

Holdridge said he met Whitesides once before, when he flew in for a visit with him and state Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela. That was not long after Holdridge was appointed to the chairman post.

Branson said during a visit to the spaceport last fall that the company was expecting to launch its first suborbital flights from Spaceport America between mid-summer of this year and spring of 2012.

Tuesday, Whitesides said the company’s flight test program is progressing, but “we still have a ways to go.” Virgin Galactic plans to use a two-vehicle system, comprised of a carrier plane and a rocket-powered spaceship, to carry passengers to suborbital space.

In all, the carrier plane, WhiteKnightTwo, has completed 49 flights, Whitesides told the spaceport board. The spaceship’s rocket motor is being developed, but glide testing, in which the vehicle is carried aloft and released, is continuing, he said. “We’ve got four glide tests of the spaceship successfully completed,” he said. “A fifth will be coming up soon.”

Holdridge said Whitesides flew to the Las Cruces airport Tuesday morning on a charter plane, and then left from El Paso on his way to London.

Anderson was present at Tuesday’s meeting but deferred most presentations to spaceport staff, saying she’s still catching up to speed on the spaceport project. All but one member of the spaceport board were present in person at the meeting, held at New Mexico State University’s main campus. Board member Scott Krahling, also a Dona Ana County commissioner, didn’t attend because a county commission meeting was held at the same time.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.

Article courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES – Britain-based Virgin Galactic, the anchor tenant company for New Mexico’s spaceport, on Monday announced the first-ever commercial contracts to fly scientists into suborbital space to conduct research.

Virgin Galactic has signed a contract with San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute to fly two researchers to space (more than 328,000 feet – or 62 miles – above Earth). The company plans to purchase an additional six seats, for a total value of $1.6 million, according to Virgin Galactic.

As well as flying its own researchers, who will carry scientific experiments developed by its in-house technical staff, the institute also aims to help American researchers who do not have direct spaceflight experience to develop and fly their payloads and personnel on suborbital missions, according to Virgin Galactic.

Said Virgin Galactic President and CEO George Whitesides: “This agreement signals the enormous scientific potential of the Virgin spaceflight system. Virgin Galactic will be able to offer researchers flights to space that are unprecedented in frequency and cost. Science flights will be an important growth area for the company in the years to come …”

The first two researchers will carry out biomedical monitoring and atmospheric imaging experiments, among others, said Alan Stern, associate vice president of the institute’s space division and former NASA associate administrator for science.

The Southwest Research Institute on its website describes itself as “one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organizations in the United States.” Its research ranges from chemistry to space science to engine design to electronics, according to the website.

NASA has opened the door to expand this type of research through its new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Flight Opportunities program. Though separate from Monday’s announcement, that program will fund future chances for researchers onboard suborbital vehicles.

Spaceport America is a launch site for commercial, suborbital space vehicles that’s under construction in southeastern Sierra County.

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium announced that the next Student Launch (SL5) will take place at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011 from Spaceport America. The launch will achieve a 65 mile altitude and include 33 experiments from New Mexico middle schools, high schools and universities.

Registration by March 15, 2011 is mandatory for attending the launch. All guests will be required to be transported by bus – no personal cars will be allowed to enter into Spaceport America. Guests and students will meet at staging areas in Las Cruces (South) at 3:00 a.m. and in Truth or Consequences (North) at 4:00 a.m. to caravan to Spaceport America for this launch.

The sponsors of the 2011 Student Launch Program include:

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS)

• Dona Ana County

• Sierra County

• Starbucks Coffee

Click here for more information and to register.

Article courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News

Rick Homans

By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – Spaceport America Director Rick Homans announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he’d been ordered to do so by the Gov. Susana Martinez administration.

Some Spaceport America board members expressed concern about Martinez’s move and questioned whether Homans’ departure was good for the $209 million spaceport project as it goes through a key stage.

An emotional Homans read a lengthy resignation statement, saying he was committed to the project and hoped to stay longer.

“While I have embraced this project, it is clear that Gov. Martinez is not embracing me,” he said, during an emergency meeting of the Spaceport Authority board in Las Cruces. “I understand politics, and I also understand how critical it is for her to have absolute trust and confidence in the executive leadership of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.”

Homans, 54, said he was informed last Thursday to resign or be fired. He said he told the Martinez administration that he’d take up the matter Wednesday with the board, which has official power over hiring and firing the executive director.

Jon Barela – Martinez’s economic development secretary nominee who’ll also chair the spaceport board – didn’t attend the meeting. But Barela’s spokeswoman, Angela Heisel, said later that Martinez has asked for the resignations of all political appointees from the Gov. Bill Richardson administration.

“This is no different than what was asked of other political appointees,” she said. “Homans’ resignation will not disrupt the construction of the spaceport; the construction team remains in place and is continuing its work.”

Heisel said a search for a replacement director is under way.

Two members of the seven-person board – Jerry Stagner and Gary Whitehead, both Truth or Consequences businessmen – voted against accepting Homans’ resignation, while other members voted in favor.

Whitehead said he realizes this is the first gubernatorial changeover in the spaceport’s existence, but “as a board member, I’d really envisioned a smoother transition as we move forward with the spaceport and our new administration.

“I know we’ll work through it, and we’re certainly in a gray area,” he said. “It would have been my wish we would have seen an extension of Mr. Homans’ contract or his job to allow a smoother transition.”

The first suborbital spaceflights are expected to launch later this year from Spaceport America.

Some officials pointed out the spaceport project is in a critical stage, attempting to transition from a big construction project to an active hub for commercial aerospace activities. Finishing construction and attracting industry are the next important steps, they said.

Homans said the first phase of construction, which includes the spaceport terminal-hangar and a 10,000-foot runway, is about 80 percent finished.

But a second construction phase that was added last year is only beginning.

Board member Casey Luna of Belen pointed out he’s been involved with planning for a New Mexico spaceport since 1991 and said he’s concerned that “we’re skipping a beat here.” But the project survived a previous “hiccup,” after the resignation last year of former director Steve Landeene, he said.

Luna said he believes that’s possible again.

“I’m hoping the governor is aware that continuity is very, very important,” he said. The spaceport “will be a good thing for the state in general and this country.”

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, an eighth, non-voting member of the spaceport board, did attend Wednesday’s session by phone, though didn’t say much.

Board members thanked Homans and outgoing board member and chairman Ben Woods.

Spaceport board members also said they were unsure of whether Martinez will allow them to serve out their terms. And, they said they hadn’t been told how to move forward in hiring a new director.

Said Whitehead: “It’s a time like this where we’re really not sure where we stand as leaders. And it feels like we’ve been put on hold, so I remained concerned about that.”

Homans, in his statement, said for the spaceport to succeed, Martinez must “become its biggest champion and rally her administration to support this effort.”

“Nothing short of complete commitment from Gov. Martinez and her administration will allow this project to achieve its full potential, which is the promise we made to the citizens of New Mexico …,” he said. “My hope is that Gov. Martinez can quickly move beyond viewing Spaceport America as the legacy project of Bill Richardson.”

Homans said instead, the project should become “her own legacy” because she’ll be governor when it first opens.

Homans, who earned $170,000 annually, said the resignation is effective at the close of business Friday. He said he started a search for a new job Wednesday.

Homans was hired as executive director in June, after Landeene resigned because of a controversy involving a possible conflict of interest. Before that, Homans was chairman of the spaceport board from 2005 to 2007 because of his job as head of the state’s Economic Development Department. Also, he was briefly the executive director in 2007, before leaving for a job in private industry.

Spaceport America is located in southeastern Sierra County.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.