Mikaela says:
Now millionaires can launch themselves into space from New Mexico!
Hmmm... a different version of outsourcing. I wonder how long it will take Bush and Co. to set up an illegal goulag on Mars? Talk about harsh extradition!
NM and a private concern from London will build a $225 million spaceport near White Sands. From NY Times:
38,000 people from 126 countries had paid a deposit for a seat on one of its commercial spaceflights, including a core group of 100 "founders" who have already paid the full $200,000 for a ticket. It plans to begin flights in late 2008 or early 2009, using the base in Mojave, Calif., from which the first manned private rockets reached space last year.
Virgin Galactic said it had chosen New Mexico as the site for its headquarters because of its steady climate, free airspace, low population density and high altitude. All those factors can significantly reduce the cost of the spaceflight program.
|