Comments on: More turmoil for Spaceport America

By: Doug Weathers

Doug Weathers — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 02:06:59 +0000

It’s partly because the FAA needs to know a lot of details about the vehicles – their performance envelope, their ground handling requirements, and a lot of other safety details – before they can issue the license for the vehicles to operate from the spaceport.

And as we know, the vehicles aren’t done yet!

Once Virgin’s flight test program is complete, the FAA license should immediately follow.

By: El Bruto

El Bruto — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:26:38 +0000

Does anyone wonder why they have not received their Lanuch Site Operators License froym the FAA to support Virgins Flights?? Perhaps its the lack of having their own airspace corridor to fly in!!! Oklahoma doesn’t have all the bells and whistles on the ground but they do have the only airspace corridor approved for space flight in the NAS that is not associated with a MOA or Restricted Airspace. And by the way, they have almost three miles of runway that is 300 feet wide!!!! Not to shabby!!!!

By: Nachrichten aus der Raumfahrt kompakt « Skyweek Zwei Punkt Null

Nachrichten aus der Raumfahrt kompakt « Skyweek Zwei Punkt Null — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:56:15 +0000

[…] Times Blog, New Scientist, Parabolic Arc 23.12.2010, Las Cruces Sun News, Alamogordo Daily News 9., New Space Journal 16., Cosmic Log […]

By: More turmoil for Spaceport America

More turmoil for Spaceport America — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:48:10 +0000

[…] http://www.newspacejournal.com/2011/01/16/more-turmoil-for-spaceport-america/ Posted in […]

By: Doug Weathers

Doug Weathers — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:47:07 +0000

Spaceport America doesn’t try to anticipate the requirements of the users. That’s the beauty of their approach. They start with an empty patch of desert, then build to the customer’s requirements. That dramatic Terminal Hangar Facility is being done to Virgin Galactic’s specifications.

At the other end of the scale is UP Aerospace. They have a concrete slab, a prefab assembly building, a launch rail, and a mission control trailer. They have been flying sounding rockets from Spaceport America for a few years now.

This is what they mean when they call themselves the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport – they’ll build it to the specifications of commercial operators, as they show up.

By: Aviation News January 17, 2011 :: N8JW

Aviation News January 17, 2011 :: N8JW — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:42:14 +0000

[…] More turmoil for Spaceport America from Personal Spaceflight The new year has not been a good one so far for Spaceport America, the commercial spaceport under construction in southern New Mexico. Early this month executive director Rick Homans resigned, apparently at the insistence of the administration of new governor Susana Martinez, who took office on New Yearâ€™s Day. On Thursday the governor announced the formation of a six-person â€œtransition teamâ€ to examine the … […]

By: Charles Pooley

Charles Pooley — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:36:28 +0000

The whole problem is having a “spaceport” precede the launchers, rockets which are to use it. The airport did not precede the airplane.

The spaceport cannot anticipate the requirements of the users until there are users. A premature spaceport will simply generate user fees, costs which will drive off potential users.

The spaceport is simply a real estate deal.

By: DocM

DocM — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:27:32 +0000

What do you expect with a govt. managed project? Same story with Boston’s big dig etc: pieces get handed out to the pols contributors with little coordination, but plenty of delays & overruns. We have a couple here in Michigan that are also disasters.