Despite space travel sputters, some say N.M. spaceport is poised for boom

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Sep. 14—TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES — Carol Sugars said she didn't really see the draw of Spaceport America. But that didn't stop the Torrance County resident from traveling to the launch site recently to share her love of amateur radio and get the next generation interested in STEM fields.

Sugars, 60, has been fiddling with radios for more than 40 years. As a child, she was fascinated by the glass tubes and lights on her grandmother's radio.

"I'm a huge proponent of STEM outreach," Sugars said. "That's what gets me involved in things like this — especially for girls."

A rare public event at Spaceport America — an open house Sept. 8 focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) was the first at the site since 2019. Attendees lined up to chat with vendors, take photos with spacecraft and aircraft, and visit with members of a burgeoning commercial space industry.

Two attendees, clad in Jedi robes, brandished lightsabers as they posed in front of a real-life spaceship. The VSS Unity, a Virgin Galactic ship used in commercial spaceflights, has been to space nine times.

But it may not go up again, at least for commercial flights.

Although Spaceport America was bustling with activity during last week's event, the commercial spaceflight program of Virgin Galactic, its primary tenant, has been on hiatus since a final flight in June. The company announced layoffs last year and a pause on the program as it focused on developing a new wave of spaceships, which promise to have more seats, more frequent flights and less maintenance. Flights are expected to begin again in 2026.

Touted as the world's first spaceport for private commercial spaceflights and a hub of space tourism when it was launched in earnest 18 years ago, the site is now one of 14 spaceports nationwide. It's still a step apart — the only one regulated for both horizontal and vertical launches — but Spaceport America is also still, in some ways, getting off the ground. Virgin Galactic, which has completed 12 spaceflights, including two this year, plans to ramp up to more than 300 flights a year, company executives told lawmakers Friday.

State officials had discussed the possibility of a spaceport project for more than a decade before then-Gov. Bill Richardson's administration sealed the deal with entrepreneur Richard Branson's British-based Virgin Galactic in 2005. There was talk at the time of starting space tourism flights — at $200,000 a seat — by 2008.

While the first successful unmanned rocket launch at the developing site came in 2007, by another company, Virgin Galactic's first fully crewed human spaceflight was delayed until 2021 — a decade after spaceport construction was complete. Branson was on board.

Days later, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin also made a successful flight.

Virgin Galactic has said nearly 700 people have signed up for increasingly costly tickets to visit space. The latest estimated average price tag for a seat: $600,000.

Despite the long delays in New Mexico's space travel industry, officials in small communities nearest to the Southern New Mexico spaceport say it's bringing in jobs and boosting their economies — a payoff in Doña Ana and Sierra counties, where residents pay gross receipts taxes to help fund the facility.

About 65% of Spaceport America's budget comes from leases, including Virgin Galactic's. The rest of the approximately $13 million per year is funded through the state's general fund and the local taxes.

Local officials see growth

New Mexico State University economist Christopher Erickson said like Spaceport America, NMSU and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology hire for a large number of technical jobs in Southern New Mexico.

"But of course, it's different, because those are educational institutions engaged in academic research, whereas the spaceport is engaged in commercial activities," Erickson said. "A lot of it's research related, but some of it isn't. It is, in essence, unique in terms of its role in the local economy."

According to a 2022 economic impact report co-authored by Erickson, 549 people were employed directly by the spaceport, either with a tenant or as a state employee. A total of 811 jobs were supported in some way by the enterprise, located about 35 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences, a town of fewer than 6,000 residents.

Tenants excluded, Spaceport America employs 31 people, with its corporate office located in Las Cruces.

Last year, Virgin Galactic announced it would be laying off 185 employees; 73 of them lived and worked in New Mexico. No Spaceport America employees were laid off.

Workers at the spaceport are spending money locally, Erickson said, citing hotel rooms, restaurants, rent and groceries.

He noted there are other tenants at the site, and Virgin Galactic's lease was unaffected by the move.

"It's not good news that ... [Virgin Galactic] is not currently, actively sending tourists into space now," Erickson said. "However, there are a number of other clients out there. Activities at the spaceport not related to Virgin Galactic continue to increase, to grow."

He calls it "space 2.0" — a nationwide push for more space activities that could become an "engine of growth" for Southern New Mexico.

Elephant Butte Mayor Phillip Mortensen said he's seen more activity in the area in the last four or five years, including additional state infrastructure dollars. He moved back to Elephant Butte about six years ago after leaving the area in 2003.

"I feel, certainly, it has been of some benefit," Mortensen said of the spaceport. "People come to town to eat, so on and so forth; they come for the tours. ... We have seen a lot of growth in town, a lot of government money."

Elephant Butte is still growing, even with flights paused, City Manager Janet Porter-Carrejo said. She attributed the trend to the diversity of projects at the spaceport.

She would like to see some Spaceport America offices located in Sierra County, to bring more high-paying jobs to the area.

"I feel like there's room for more growth to come," Porter-Carrejo said. "I do know there are a number of local contractors who have benefitted and have had contracts out there. There are several of the day-to-day workforce that live in this area and work out there."

Virgin banks on a new fleet

Mike Moses, president of Virgin Galactic Spaceline, said the company isn't done in New Mexico. In fact, he foresees rapid growth in coming years.

Moses, who has lived in Las Cruces since 2019, said the company is planning to break ground on a new hanger in January to accommodate a new fleet of spaceships known as Delta.

VSS Unity was a "fantastic demonstration" of the concept, he said, but the Delta ships will have better performance, a faster and cheaper build time, and a quicker turnaround for maintenance, allowing for more frequent flights.

Speaking Friday to several state lawmakers gathered in Las Cruces for a meeting of the legislative Economic and Rural Development and Policy Committee, Moses said the company is hammering out lease details for the new hangar, which he described as "about a $30 million investment" Virgin Galactic will pay for.

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority will lay in roads and utilities needed to operate the hangar, which would house the mothership and all the company's fueling facilities, he added.

By 2025, the Delta ships should be ready for flight testing, Moses said, and in 2026 they'll be ready for commercial flights. The company expects to carry 750 people a year into space.

"Unity doesn't make money because of the amount of work it takes just to fly a single flight," Moses said. "When you can have that scale ... we start to grow exponentially. So the future looks pretty good."

Virgin Galactic's most recent quarterly report shows that year over year, operating costs were slashed by millions and revenue doubled from $2 million to $4 million.

The first goal is to increase flights to between 300 and 350 times per year, Moses said. Currently, Virgin Galactic Spaceline employs a little under 200 people. Moses anticipates employment growth when commercial flights resume, and said laid-off employees will be eligible to reapply for any posted jobs.

In the meantime, the open market has not been kind to the spaceflight company. Its stock price has plummeted more than 85% since the beginning of the year, from more than $47 a share in January to $6 or $7 the last few weeks. Moses acknowledged that pummeling but said he's optimistic about the company's future once the next round of flights are up and running.

"While our stock price is currently taking a beating because we're not flying, the business model sustains itself," Moses told lawmakers.

Event showcases opportunities

Astronaut Nicole Stott, a speaker at Spaceport America's Sept. 8 open house, reunited with the commander of her first spaceflight, Frederick "CJ" Sturckow, who is now a Virgin Galactic astronaut.

It was Stott's first time at Spaceport America.

"I just keep looking around," Stott said. "It's really neat ... It's kind of cool how what was going on with NASA as astronauts has evolved to these other things, like Virgin Galactic and Blue [Origin]."

Much of the STEM-themed open house was focused on the future — not only the future of the spaceport, but also future generations. STEM is a big part of the spaceport mission; a portion of the quarter-percent gross receipts tax dedicated to the spaceport in Sierra and Doña Ana counties is earmarked for STEM education programs.

Across the concrete field, a young girl asked Stott her advice for girls who want to go to space.

Stott has been to space twice, spending 104 days total out-of-this-world. An artist as well as an engineer, she navigated zero-gravity pools of water to paint the first watercolor in space.

At the open house, she wore a hand-painted pendant inspired by a photo she took of the Bahamas from the International Space Station.

As she was growing up, her dad built small planes. Over time, she said, she developed a love of flying.

But she noted space isn't just for science-oriented kids.

"We need the kids in this area to know that there's opportunities for not just a STEM kid, there's opportunities for everybody," Stott said. "Any job you're thinking about, we need it with the space industry as well."

Spaceport spokesperson Charlie Hurley said several officials and engineers at the facility graduated from New Mexico universities, including Executive Director Scott McLaughlin, an NMSU grad.

While astronauts shared space stories, a slower-speed aircraft — the hot air balloon "Santita" — billowed to attention. Christina Casillas and her crew distributed information about the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally.

Interest was high — her stack of flyers dwindled.

"There's all levels of different technologies here," Casillas said. "You've got air travel, you have space travel, you have the helicopter. There's all kinds of technology that's just really wonderful to see."

Casillas and her family have a deep involvement in the STEM world. Casillas has a Bachelor of Science in information and communications technology from NMSU; her son graduated with a chemical engineering degree from her alma mater, and her daughter is pursuing an engineering degree at the university.

"The potential is there," Casillas said, for Spaceport America to become an economic driver in the region.

Las Cruces couple Lauren and Jeremiah Fox traveled to the open house from nearby Las Cruces. Lauren Fox said it was nice to see new — and baby-friendly — events happening in the area.

With no flights at the spaceport, Jeremiah Fox said he thinks the site has been underutilized — but feels like it's "on the edge of change."

"I kind of feel like I'm at a demonstration for a steam engine and the train hasn't gone through yet," Jeremiah Fox said.

Is their 1-year-old daughter on track to be a future astronaut?

"If he has his way," Lauren Fox said, nodding toward Jeremiah.

"That would be awesome," he responded.

Staff writer Gabrielle Porter contributed to this report.

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