Spaceport America Gets FAA License 61
DynaSoar writes "Spaceport America received an early and double holiday gift this week: first, the expected (positive) FAA environmental impact report, and second, the hoped-for but not immediately expected 'launch site operator's license.' With this license, and with the previously accomplished creation of a tax district, two of three pieces are in place as required by the New Mexico legislature to receive its funding package. The third, a lease with a space services tenant to use the facility, may come this week also, in the form of a contract with Virgin Galactic. While timing is impossible to predict, the contract is a virtual certainty. The New Mexico Spaceport Authority fully expects it, and so has projected late 2010 for completion of hangar and terminal facilities. Virgin Galactic also seems confident, as they have already screened and submitted their first 100 customers (called the Virgin Galactic Founders) to their contracted medical and training supervisor. They are busy screening their second 100 'spaceflight participants' (NASA and RKA having decided that only those who can tack 'career' on the front of it deserve to be called 'astronauts')."
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> first, the expected (positive) FAA environmental impact report, and second,
> the hoped-for but not immediately expected 'launch site operator's license.'
> With this license, and with the previously accomplished creation of a tax
> district, two of three pieces are in place as required by the New Mexico
> legislature to receive its funding package
Actually, they had one and only one piece in-place quite a long time ago. "We're doing this here, and you elected officials are getting the F*** OUT
what's next... (Score:1)
Re:what's next... (Score:5, Funny)
Homeland Genuine Advantage?
Missed Opportunity... (Score:5, Insightful)
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why heinlein of all people? there are lots and lots of better sf authors.
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try "tales of pirx the pilot" sometime. this is imho the most realistic (except of computer technology) discription of private human spaceflight out there.
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...to name it after Robert Heinlein.
I can see it now...
"The Pompous Windbag Commemorative Spaceport"...
What will the media call them? (Score:1, Insightful)
Comercianauts? Touranauts? (damn I hate touranauts...)
Matt
Re:What will the media call them? (Score:5, Funny)
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Why, those bastards. I'm going to demand a wheelchair next time I fly, just to show em.
Tourists? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, probably "space tourists" til the first couple of hundred go up and down successfully and the astronauts wings given out go from being solid steel with gold plating down to plastic clip on models made in taiwan in toy factories... then I think the media will just call them "tourists".
Last time I went to the USA people called me a "tourist" not an "airplane tourist" or a "USA tourist".
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Well, if they want to get technical, it will be Spaceflight Participant. [wikipedia.org] It's a term already established by AST (the space launch license portion of the FAA) to refer to people on board spacecraft who are not part of the crew, but unlike commercial airline passengers, have gone through some training and have given informed consent [faa.gov] (sorry, that's a Word doc).
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(NASA and RKA having decided that only those who can tack 'career' on the front of it deserve to be called 'astronauts').
See, this is what happens when we start having the government declare what "The Definition" of a word is. I say, if some people want to go to all the effort and expense of going into space, they should be able to call themselves "Astronauts".
I know the advocates of "Traditional Astronaut-age" are claiming that this would somehow undermine the institution as they know it, but frankly, I just don't get their argument. I mean, nobody's stopping them from going into space their way, and if they privately consid
I don't beleive it! (Score:5, Funny)
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"Play that same song again!"
World's most expensive joyrides. (Score:2, Interesting)
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Plus (Score:2)
Re:World's most expensive joyrides. (Score:4, Informative)
Long flights are expensive because you have to pay the labour for the crew for more than a day. Sea transport was more expensive than air transport for the same reason.
If a semi-ballistic transport can be made reliable then a lot of money will be saved on time alone. The problem is that going half way around the Earth uses almost as much fuel as going into orbit, so you need a complete shuttle stack to do it.
SpaceX have been making progress with their liquid fueled engines lately. I wonder how you would go connecting the guts of one of their rockets to something more like a spaceplane?
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If a semi-ballistic transport can be made reliable then a lot of money will be saved on time alone. The problem is that going half way around the Earth uses almost as much fuel as going into orbit, so you need a complete shuttle stack to do it.
The problem with semi-ballistic, or sub-orbital hops, is that you more often than not end up wearing your breakfast - which businessmen do not like to do.
There is scope for intercontinental flights to become faster, but there is also a balance to be met between speed and passenger comfort./p?
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Ha. Cut a few hours off their Crackberry-free time, and they'll grab some Dramamine and sign right up.
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There is scope for intercontinental flights to become faster, but there is also a balance to be met between speed and passenger comfort./p?
Cutting half a day or more off your travel time is worth puking for. You will find customers. Whether there'll be enough of them to cover the costs of the suborbital flight is a different story.
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SpaceX have been making progress with their liquid fueled engines lately. I wonder how you would go connecting the guts of one of their rockets to something more like a spaceplane?
Hmmm, they might need to create an intermediate engine. SpaceShipOne had a thrust of around 70k N. The Kestrel does 31k N and the Merlin does over 600k N. For a larger vehicle than SpaceShipOne with more fuel, you're going to need a lot more thrust, but maybe not 600k N worth.
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You think the first airport had an opposite?
What were they thinking when they built those airplanes with no place to go?
Silly aviators. //They really should have named it after Heinlein.
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I'm I missing something or does this spaceport not actually connect to anything? Ironically you would be travelling the most distance in your life and end not going anywhere. Anyway, hope this will bring actual space travel to the moon, planets, I would even settle for a station on Earth orbit, closer to most people.
You're not wrong. Just like SS1, SS2/Virgin Galactic is strictly an up-and-down same place ride. SS2 is not capable of an orbital trajectory or even significant gliding distance, by design. SS3 is intended to be orbital. Then we'll be going places.
One giant leap at a time.
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Perhaps if you're from SE Asia. Space Ship One goes more or less 100km straight up and then straight down. Some people commute more in a day.
I don't get it... 10% overrun limit? (Score:1)
The Federal Aviation Administration will issue a final decision on an environmental impact statement for the $200 million project and issue a license for the site.
...I understand this to mean that Spaceport America/Virgin submitted their application to the FAA based on a cost estimation of 200 mio $...
The third condition was that the project not exceed $225 million, a condition spaceport officials assure will be met.
So, does this mean as soon as they have 10% cost overrun their license is revoked?
I mean, surely no project ever has 10% cost overrun!
Either this means this is not a hard limit at all or there won't be a spaceport. Or the article is wrong. Or I didn't get it. Please someone explain.
(Also, please be sure to point out that 200-->225 is not a 10% overrun o
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So, does this mean as soon as they have 10% cost overrun their license is revoked?
Man, it took me a while, but I figured it out: it's 12.5%.
(Also, please be sure to point out that 200-->225 is not a 10% overrun or your geek-license will be revoked.)
Done.
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I don't know. I went to school in Las Cruces (NMSU) and Dona Ana county is pretty damn poor other than those associated with either the Uni or White Sands. At the time (~1994) they were just starting to talk about a space port. For them to be willing to take a chance on something like this through a self imposed sales tax increase is commendable. The at least partial funding from the local tax base will keep local oversight fairly high. Granted it is construction so by default its corrupt, but I've seen how the areas has transformed since the early 90s and its impressive. I think it has been money very well spent and as long as it totally doesn't fall through will be a huge boom economically for the area. They've probably doubled the number of Sonics and Weinerschniztles(sp?) in town since I was there and anyone can a test to that being the true measure for economic strength for a town in the southwest.
The local tax district isn't supposed to carry the place, it's just supposed to show willingness of the locals, and later when there's significant tourist travel, THEN they'll be able to contribute more. For now it was enough to get it started so NM would fund the majority of the construction. It's a speculative investment by the state, which hopes to see returns if things work out.
Yes, astronauts (Score:3, Informative)
They deserve to be called astronauts, even if that dilutes the brand.
The definition of astronaut is anyone who travels into space. Space is defined as as certain altitude above the earth. According to Wiki [wikipedia.org]:
There have been cases where, like in the Challenger disaster, they were not technically considered astronauts since they didn't cross the threshhold into space. So far there's been 489 astronauts under the international standard, and 496 by the US standard of 50 miles.
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They deserve to be called astronauts, even if that dilutes the brand.
The definition of astronaut is anyone who travels into space. Space is defined as as certain altitude above the earth.
Ah. So you are one of those spacey-space-tourists who paid a couple of million USD to brag with "I'm an astronaut" to get laid and now you cry because you are being taken away your brag rights. My sympathies.
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And you must be one of those people who cheered when Pluto was no longer listed as a planet.
I'm asking for consistency here, not a sudden rewriting of the definitions
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How about if it's a cargo ship in the wool trade?
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So we should change the definition because that one is stupid. In my opinion, the name of the career is astronaut and even ones that don't get into space should be called that. There can be another name for people that go X miles high... or there doesn't have to be a name at all. They are just the people that have been X miles high, or "in space".
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No not astronauts.
I don't know where you got that definition but I think it is wrong.
-naut comes from the Greek word for sailor. Not every one who travels by boat is a sailor. A sailor is crew. An astronaut means crew of a space faring vessel. Passengers are not crew.
Obligatory Obi Wan quote... (Score:1)
New Mexico spaceport, You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany.