On February 6 and 7, the Albuquerque Journal ran consecutive articles regarding Space Tourism. Quoted extensively was J.P. Stevens, vice president of space systems for the Aerospace Industry Association, whose members include Lockheed Martin and Boeing, saying that he believed in space tourism "wholeheartedly". In addressing the possibility of other states also providing sites for "space ports", Stevens supported the notion that New Mexico's proposed Southwest Regional Spaceport, located 25 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences, NM, is the leading site to capitalize on what is projected to be a $1 billion dollar industry within 15 years: "A guy like Branson (Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic) is not going out and fund something like this if the business model isn't there." Commenting on Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic's plans to locate it's headquarters at the proposed $225 million spaceport in southern New Mexico, Stevens said: "I think they are way ahead".

Other companies, like the United Kingdom based, Starchaser, have announced plans to use the Southwest Regional Spaceport for carrying experiments and other payloads into space aboard suborbital rockets.

Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, confirmed to the Albuquerque Journal, that while Virgin Galactic may eventually consider space port facilities in other states, the Southwest Regional Spaceport would be its permanent home. He said no other location could complete with southern New Mexico's altitude, year-round weather and empty airspace.

SIR RICHARD BRANSON ANNOUNCES SPACEPORT FOR SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO

On December 13, 2005, in London, England, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, announced his plans to utilize a "spaceport" in southern New Mexico for Virgin Galactic's space tourism missions. This announcement was followed the next day by a joint press conference with Branson and New Mexico Governor, Bill Richardson, in Santa Fe, NM unveiling the Spaceship Two which Branson intends to launch from a 27 square mile "spaceport" located in southern Sierra County, just west of the White Sands Missile Range. Virgin Galactic plans to eventually take 10,000 passengers per year into space. The entire ride will last about 2and 1/2 hours, with preflight training expected to take approximately 3 days. So far, according to Virgin Galactic, 38,000 + people have either paid in full or made substantial deposits for the $200,000.00 experience. New Mexico is expected to authorize $235,000,000.00 for the construction of the "Southwest Regional Spaceport" to be built 23 miles south east of Truth or Consequences, NM, the nearest city.

Passengers will be carried approximately 70 miles above the Earth's surface and will experience weightlessness for about 6 minutes before returning to Earth. Branson's company will feature spacecraft designed and built by Bert Rutan, the winner of the $10,000,000.00 X Prize for two space flights with the same craft within a ten day period, held in 2004. As did Rutan's Spaceship One, Virgin Galactic's craft will launch from underneath an aircraft and at, 3,000 mph, rocket outside the atmosphere in an arc and then glide back to the spaceport by itself.

Virgin Galactic expects to begin flights in 2008 or early 2009 and has agreed to lease the site from the State of New Mexico for 20 years. A private consulting company has predicted that up to 3,500 new jobs could be created in the area as the commercial space industry "takes off". Starchaser and UP Aerospace, two impendent companies, have made plans to begin commercial space services, such as private launch services for scientific experiments, from the "spaceport" in 2007 and will be sharing runway facilities with Virgin Galactic.

In a press conference held at the proposed site, Branson said that the project would mark New Mexico as the launch pad of the newly developing commercial space industry. In addition to jobs, Branson also said, the "spaceport" will draw tourists to this remote part of the state. Other companies founded by Sir Richard Branson include Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Mobile.