PRESS RELEASE •
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE •
November 30, 2009 •

LAS CRUCES, NM – The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has selected a New Mexico contractor to provide construction services for Spaceport America's Terminal Hangar Facility (THF). The facility will house the operational offices of Virgin Galactic's world headquarters. After reviewing proposals from several contractors, the NMSA Board of Directors awarded construction of the 110,152-square foot THF to Summit West of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The THF was designed by URS/Foster + Partners and is to be built in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. It will set the standard for environmentally sound design for similar structures worldwide, and will employ up to 600 New Mexicans during its construction phase.

Summit West has a strong history of construction in New Mexico and throughout the southwest. Since 1987, Summit West’s New Mexico headquarters have been located in Albuquerque. The company has completed large-scale public and private construction projects from California to New Mexico, and supplied the most competitive bid for the THF project.

Steve Landeene, Executive Director for the NMSA, is excited about the board's decision to work with Summit West. "This marks the beginning of construction on the signature building of one of the most unique economic development projects in history, creating the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport," he said. "URS/Foster + Partners has designed an iconic, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art facility, and Summit West will help bring it to life."

New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development Fred Mondragón is pleased with the Spaceport progress and said, “This award is the latest in a series of Spaceport America construction bids which have been to New Mexico based contractors. This means hundreds of jobs for New Mexicans that will help our state bridge the gap to brighter economic times.”

Landeene says there is still a lot of work to be awarded for Spaceport America. "NMSA will continue to issue Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Invitations to Bid (ITB) for more services and construction at the spaceport, and award contracts to the best qualified contractors." The latest RFP/ITB information can be found online at www.spaceportamerica.com

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 summer 2010 with the Terminal Hangar Facility projected to be complete by early 2011.