A convergence of ideas and events
By Loretta Hall
The rumble of a rocket engine and then a distant
sonic boom break the breezy silence of a remote
desert plain. Another unmanned commercial rocket
has been launched from Spaceport America. Soon,
perhaps in a few months, Virgin Galactic will begin
space tourism flights with a futuristic spacecraft
air launched from a mothership using Spaceport
America’s 12,000-foot runway for takeoff and landing.
How did this, the world’s first purpose-built
commercial spaceport, come to be built in
southern New Mexico? It was the continuation of
more than seven decades of space development
in a geographic setting ideally suited for it.
A fruitful desert
It was Robert Goddard, inventor of the liquid fuel
rocket, who first recognized New Mexico’s suitability for
space research. After his dramatic fourth test launch
in his home state of Massachusetts in 1929, the state
fire marshal forbade any more launches. Goddard
began searching for another location with the best
possible features: a large expanse of flat open space,
little vegetation to catch on fire, few people who
could be frightened or injured during his tests, generally
good weather throughout the year, power availability,
and access to rail and air transportation. A higher
elevation was also desirable for fuel conservation. He
consulted with a meteorologist and with aviator Charles
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