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New Mexico reaches tourism’s final frontier

7th March 2011 Print

New Mexico will take centre stage as tourism reaches a whole new frontier in years to come – the final frontier, in fact.

The US state has been chosen as the launch pad for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture and from May 2011, new tours will be available for visitors to take a look around the world’s first commercial spaceport.

Spaceport America is situated in the desert on a 27-square-mile site between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences. It is designed by the internationally renowned Foster and Partners and construction is on schedule to be completed by the summer of 2011. The project reached a major milestone in October 2010 when the runway was dedicated in a ceremony attended by former New Mexico Governor Richardson and Sir Richard Branson, with a flyover and landing by Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo in a captive carry with SpaceShipTwo.

More than 400 would-be astronauts have already secured reservations with Virgin Galactic to become some of the world’s first space tourists. The majority of visitors to New Mexico, however, will find the price-tag of $200,000 a little over-budget, so instead they are now being offered the chance to tour Spaceport America for an insight into the future of space tourism.

The Spaceport America Preview Tour leads visitors through the history and evolution of transportation and trade in the American continent, from the Spanish and Native American pioneers of the past to the rail, air and space pioneers of the future. Touring around the region and ending up at Spaceport America, the tour gives guests a taste of New Mexico’s scenic beauty and rugged ranges.

Starting with a look into the region’s history, visitors travel from Truth or Consequences past the Elephant Butte Dam, built in 1916 to control the then-wild Rio Grande River. The route then coincides with the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trail – the Spanish ‘Royal Road’ – which connected the region to Mexico City during much of the colonial period. From 1598 to 1680, Spanish Conquistadores used this trail along with Native Americans and later in the 1800s, the first US explorers and militias used the same passageway to navigate the southwest. The route served as one of the central corridors for US-Mexican trade after the 1820s.

Tour guests will learn fascinating stories about some of area’s more colourful characters like Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate, American frontiersman Kit Carson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Billy The Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett, all of whom are linked to the El Camino Real Trail. They will also pass near media mogul Ted Turner’s vast and historic Armendaris Ranch, which was established in 1819.

Following passage through the ghost town of Engle, guests will embark on the Jornada del Muerto or the ‘Journey of the Deadman’ on their way to the 18,000-acre site of Spaceport America. The tour will venture inside the spaceport perimeter where guests will witness history in the making: the future home of the personal and commercial spaceflight industry.

The tour guide will point out and explain the different components of the Spaceport America infrastructure currently under construction, including the airfield, air rescue and fire fighting facility, fuel storage complex and the iconic terminal hangar facility. Lucky guests may even speak with a project engineer or stand at the head of the 10,000 foot long by 200 foot wide concrete runway. The vehicle will then traverse the site to the vertical launch area to see existing space launch facilities and vertical mission control building on the eastern range. The group is likely to encounter livestock and wild animals as two working cattle ranches co-exist peacefully within the spaceport.

The tour also educates guests on what it takes to make a successful spaceport and why New Mexico is so ideally suited for space access. New Mexico has a long tradition of being ahead of the crowd when it comes to space, highlighted through the exploits of local aerospace pioneers, such as Robert Goddard, Wernher von Braun, Colonel John Stapp and Captain Joseph Kittinger.

Finally, the tour will include the latest updates on major players and trends in the emerging commercial space industry. Guests will hear the stories of Virgin Galactic, Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR Aerospace, UP Aerospace and more, along with predictions for new game-changing technologies like point-to-point transportation and space-based solar power.

The Spaceport America Preview Tour lasts between three and four hours and is available for an introductory price of US$59 per person (based on two or more participants). The standard price will be US$99 and a supplement of US$30 will be added for single registrants. 

Reservations for the tour can be made through Follow the Sun Tours at ftstours.com and via the Spaceport America website: spaceportamerica.com

For more information on visiting New Mexico, see: newmexico.org