New Mexico to spend $225 million
Commercial spaceflight set to begin in 2010
Virgin Galactic to fly 50,000 peassengers in 10 years
SANTE FE, NM, Dec. 14, 2005 (New Mexico Economic Development Department PR) Governor Bill Richardson and Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Companies, today announced that Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial space tourism business, will locate its world headquarters and Mission Control in New Mexico. The agreement between the State of New Mexico and Virgin Galactic calls for New Mexico to build a $225 million spaceport in the southern part of the state, on 27- square miles of state land.
“This is a historic day for our great state, and particularly Southern New Mexico,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “With Virgin at the controls, enthusiasts from around the world will fly to space, routinely and safely, just a few years from now. And they will be flying from the world’s first purpose-built spaceport here in New Mexico.
LAS CRUCES When Connor Olson started the spring semester in January, he was one of about five students working in New Mexico State University’s Sam Steel Café, housed in Gerald Thomas Hall.
After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and NMSU began operating under state health guidelines to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, Sam Steel Café temporarily closed its doors. Olson moved over to ACES Foods, a student-run food production company in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Under the supervision of program manager and instructor Whitney Blickem, students are helping produce orders of gelato and cookies, including 1,800 pecan sandies for Legacy Pecans.
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Visits to U.S. Space Command finalists will be done by the end of next week as the Pentagon prepares to make a final decision next month.
The Space Force is working on a new accelerator program just for universities to debut in Spring 2021.
High school students from 33 schools will be competing for $5,000 in prize money from 18 employers in the second New Mexico Governors STEM Challenge. Hosted and organized by New Mexico State University, the Los Alamos National Labs Foundation, New Mexico Department of Public Education and New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, this event will be entirely virtual Saturday, Dec. 12.
Ten-person student teams have submitted solutions to the NMSU formulated question, How can you combine New Mexicos natural resources with technology to address regional/global needs? Employer partners have provided judges who will rate the solutions based on quality, creativity, presentation, and how they match up with skills that employers need for future hires in their own industries. Selected teams will receive $500 per student in cash.