By Chris McKee | KROE TV
Could 2020 be the year commercial space flights finally launch from New Mexico’s nearly quarter-billion-dollar Spaceport?
A top state official now says takeoff may be a lot closer than you think after Virgin Galactic moved its only fully-functional spaceship out to New Mexico last week.
While there was no flashy press conference for the arrival of SpaceShipTwo known as “Unity,” New Mexico’s Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales says the spaceship’s arrival is a huge sign that the long-promised space tourism business is nearly ready to launch.
“We know New Mexico is on the cusp of something grand,” Morales said in an interview with KRQE News 13 Tuesday.
Virgin Galactic announced last Thursday the company has permanently relocated SpaceShipTwo Unity to its new home at the Spaceport, where the company has a lease through 2028.
The announcement means the actual spaceship that’s expected to carry passengers and the spaceship’s carrier aircraft called “VMS Eve” are now both stationed in New Mexico. Both the aircraft and the spacecraft are needed for Virgin Galactic to take tourists to space and begin their business in earnest.
The moves come as New Mexicans have been waiting for a decade to see Virgin Galactic to takeoff.
