Spaceport America, first an ambitious vision, then a conceptual drawing, still has not seen a shovel hit the ground.

They won't be launching rockets from Sierra County next week, but one by one, things are falling into place to move the spaceport past the idea phase.

New Mexico Spaceport Authority executive director Steve Landeene has been in place for about six months now, long enough to have a solid grasp on things.

Since Sierra County's passage in April of a gross receipts tax hike to support the spaceport, that county's commissioners have been working with Doña Ana County commissioners on the creation of a tax district. You can expect to see those extra pennies on your store receipts starting Jan. 1.

Last week, Gov. Bill Richardson appointed a new chairwoman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. She is Daniela Glick, a Las Cruces native.

She has been serving as the deputy cabinet secretary of the Economic Development Department, and previously served several roles in the governor's office.

We like the fact a hometown person is in that role, and wish Glick success.

"We are making great progress on the spaceport," Richardson said. "And I am counting on Daniela, who is very familiar with the project, to guide the Spaceport Authority as it moves toward construction."

Earlier this week, the Spaceport Authority launched its new Web site, www.spaceportamerica.com, which will keep people in tune with lateste developments. Another piece of the puzzle is the release of the spaceport's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Initial research — neatly summarized in a 501-page document — revealed no major surprises, no insurmountable hurdles to the spaceport's creation.
The Draft EIS is the precursor to the final EIS, and in between the two, there will be more research, as well as hearings to gather comment from the public.

The hearings will take place Aug. 5 in Alamogordo, Aug. 6 in Truth or Consequences, and Aug. 7 in Las Cruces. All comments must be received by Aug. 18.
If nothing unusual or unexpected happens, and the EIS goes through, a groundbreaking could take place in the near future.
A lot of people have shed a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money planting the seeds of Spaceport America.
If you squint real hard, you can now see something starting to emerge from the ground.