Join the New Mexico Space Blog Is it just coincidence that the 1947 crash landing of a UFO in Roswell happens in the same year as the tesing of the atom bomb just few miles away in White Sands, NM.
A spaceport or
space launch facility is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy
with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. In rocketry, major
spaceports often include more than one launch complex, each of which may
have more than one launch pad. Spaceports like the one planned for Upham,
New Mexico are large enough that, should a vehicle explode, it will not
endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads.
Among the
primary attractions of space tourism are the uniqueness of the
experience, the thrill and awe of looking at Earth from space, described
by astronauts as extremely intense and mind-boggling. The space tourism
industry is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations,
including
New Mexico. Some use the term "personal spaceflight" as in the case
of the Personal Spaceflight Federation.
New Mexico has a long tradition of
being the first in space-age technologies. In 1947 a purported space
tourist crash-landed their space buggy in Roswell, New Mexico. A bit
west of Roswell is the White Sands Test Site, home of the atom bomb. A
little further to the west lies Upham, NM home to the new Virgin
Atlantic Spaceport for space tourism.
