SIERRA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – With commercial space flights becoming increasingly common, New Mexico has made its way into international headlines for its role in the quickly advancing space technology industry. One of the main reasons for that attention is Spaceport America.
Located west of the White Sands Missile Range in Sierra County, New Mexico, Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. It is owned by the State of New Mexico and operated by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
Spaceport America is situated on 18,000 acres with a 12,000-by-200-foot runway and 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace. The port is home to many tenants, operating with both long-term leases and as short-term customers. Some of the most prominent spaceport tenants are the companies Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, AeroVironment/HAPSMobile, and SpinLaunch.
Spaceport America’s New Mexico launch base provides a unique advantage – a starting elevation of approximately 4,600 feet above sea level, meaning a nearly one-mile head start toward space.
Although the spaceport got its license to launch in December 2008, the first phase of construction was not completed until fiscal year 2016. The final cost to build the spaceport was $218.5 million, made up of $142 million in state-allocated funds and $76.4 million from local spaceport gross receipt taxes.
As of 2024, over 300 rockets have been launched into space from Spaceport America; one of which was the first private passenger spaceflight launched by Virgin Galactic in June 2023. Spaceport America is also home to the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition, the Spaceport America Cup, which welcomes thousands of students and professionals from all over the world each year.
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