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LAS CRUCES, NM – Officials from the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) announced that they will begin offering paid public hardhat tours of the Spaceport America construction site beginning December 2009. The announcement came today at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) taking place at New Mexico State University (NMSU), which will host a private hard hat tour of the spaceport site as part of its program for registered participants on Friday, October 23.

The tours will highlight New Mexico history spanning from Spanish conquistores and pioneer rocket research to the new commercial space industry. Tour participants will receive an on-site tour of the construction site including the runway and vertical launch facility. Tour details and reservation forms will be available on the Spaceport America website (www.spaceportamerica.com) by mid- November.

Now in its fifth year, ISPCS is an annual symposium sponsored by NMSU's New Mexico Space Grant Consortium to promote the growing global commercial spaceflight industry. Registered participants will depart via bus from Las Cruces on Friday morning, arriving at Spaceport America at 1:30 pm. NMSA Executive Director Steve Landeene will lead the tour. Guests will tour the construction site and the 10,000-foot runway that is currently under construction, as well as current launch facilities.

Spaceport America is the world's first purpose-built commercial space facility. Spaceport America has been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight. Spaceport America's 10,000-foot long runway is now under construction and is expected to be complete by late summer 2010 with the Terminal Hangar Facility projected to be complete by early 2011.