Virgin Galactic -- Spaceport America's anchor tenant -- is slated to start operating next year.
New Mexico's first Spaceopolis? —
Virgin Galactic -- Spaceport America's anchor tenant -- is slated to start operating next year.
Frederic J. BrownAFP/Getty Images
Tickets to space currently go for $250,000. At the moment, it seems the area around the Spaceport isn't set up for the luxury needs of Richard Branson's high-earning customers.
Ready for take-off? —
Tickets to space currently go for $250,000. At the moment, it seems the area around the Spaceport isn't set up for the luxury needs of Richard Branson's high-earning customers.
Virgin Galactic
Once space flights start, it is estimated that 200,000 people will visit the Spaceport and the surrounding area each year
Building a Spaceopolis —
Once space flights start, it is estimated that 200,000 people will visit the Spaceport and the surrounding area each year
Courtesy New Mexico Tourism
The numbers are sure to have a large impact on Truth or Consequences, or T or C, the nearest town, which has a population of 7,000.
Transforming a town —
The numbers are sure to have a large impact on Truth or Consequences, or T or C, the nearest town, which has a population of 7,000.
Courtesy New Mexico Tourism
While the Spaceport is already attracting some visitors, the few tourists that trickle into T or C and the surrounding area seem drawn by its rustic charm, and a handful of hot spring spas leftover from the 1930s and 1940s, when the town did a thriving trade in wellness tourism.
From spas to spacecraft —
While the Spaceport is already attracting some visitors, the few tourists that trickle into T or C and the surrounding area seem drawn by its rustic charm, and a handful of hot spring spas leftover from the 1930s and 1940s, when the town did a thriving trade in wellness tourism.
Courtesy New Mexico Tourism
Whether or not T or C will be able to maintain its laid-back atmosphere is questionable in years to come.
Laid-back launchpad —
Whether or not T or C will be able to maintain its laid-back atmosphere is questionable in years to come.
courtesy New Mexico Tourism