Spaceport America's Business Model

• Designed to produce positive revenue for the state via economic development, tourism and educational opportunities

• Site Revenue: lease fees, user fees and merchandising/tourism revenue
• Economic Development & Job Creation Revenue: On-site employment and supply chain jobs. This generates new tax revenue for the state via income, property and gross receipts taxes

Spaceport America & Virgin Galactic: An Ideal Partnership

• Virgin Galactic has entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Spaceport America.
• Spaceport America will serve as headquarters for Virgin Galactic operations
• Why did Virgin Galactic choose Spaceport America?

• World's first purpose-built commercial spaceport
• Estimated construction cost $209 million
• Stable weather, dry climate
• 4,600 ft. altitude above sea level means nearly the first mile of vertical travel is "free"!
• Low population density around Spaceport America
• Congestion-free, shared restricted airspace with neighboring White Sands Missile Range
• Long local history of spaceflight pioneering and innovation

How does Spaceport America work?

• Like an airport, the spaceport is owned by the State of New Mexico and its citizens
• Like an airline, Virgin Galactic pays lease fees and user fees to use the spaceport
• Private companies pay fees to launch from the spaceport. Past and present clients include:

• Lockheed Martin
• Moog-FTS
• UP Aerospace, Inc.
• Microgravity Enterprises, Inc.
• Armadillo Aerospace
• Celestis

Other opportunities exist with NASA, Kirtland AFB, X-PRIZE, Holloman AFB and more

Benefitting the People of New Mexico!

• Construction contracts employ New Mexicans from all over the state
• Jobs Outlook for Spaceport America:

• Construction: currently employing appx. 500 plus construction workers
• Sustainable: NMSA expects approximately 25-50 long term jobs
• Virgin Galactic: estimates between 75 – 150 at the spaceport
• Other Tenants: each tenant will employ a support staff with secondary job affects
• Secondary: Estimated to generate about 1.7 times the number of jobs for support and secondary services outside the spaceport

Tourism: Hotels, restaurants, tour operators, etc.

Tourism

• Spaceport America Hardhat Tours Now Available!

• Guided bus group tours available for a nominal fee
• Highlighting area attractions and current state of development at Spaceport America
• Driving tourism and economic activity for entire area

Terminal Hangar Facility (THF) Facts

• Site Area: 670,000 sq. ft. including apron 
• Terminal Hangar Facility Gross Area: 110,152 sq. ft.
• Net Area: 

• Western Zone: 25,597 sq.ft.
• Hangar: 47,000 sq. ft.
• Public Viewing Gallery: 4,000 sq. ft.
• Eastern Zone: 29,419 sq. ft.
• Viewing Balcony: 1,712 sq. ft.

Western Zone of the Terminal & Hanger Facility

• Houses support and administrative facilities for Virgin Galactic and the New Mexico Spaceport Authority visitor area.

Central Zone of the Terminal & Hanger Facility

• Operational heart of the facility containing the double-height hangar to store WhiteKnightTwo & SpaceShipTwo

Eastern Zone of the Terminal & Hanger Facility

• Principal operational training area, departure lounge, spacesuit dressing rooms and celebration areas. The restaurant and mission control room have direct east views across the apron, runway and landscape beyond. 

Number of floors: 3 

Highest point: 60 feet

Sustainability - Designed to achieve LEED Gold

• • Earth Tubes under the earth berm to cool the building 
• • Underfloor radiant cooling and heating 
• • Natural ventilation in mid season 

Scheduled construction completion date: 2011

Runway Facts

• Designed to support horizontal launch operations like WhiteKnightTwo and other manned and unmanned aerospace projects
• Runway construction started August 2009, estimated complete by fall of 2010
• Concrete runway is 200 feet wide by 10,000 feet long — nearly two miles!

42" thick with a 14" concrete finished surface, can accommodate almost any manned or unmanned aircraft in the world