{"id":13564,"date":"2015-02-23T22:15:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T22:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/can-foster-partners-spaceport-america-keep-the-lights-on\/"},"modified":"2017-09-19T12:00:35","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T12:00:35","slug":"can-foster-partners-spaceport-america-keep-the-lights-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.arc.ht\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/can-foster-partners-spaceport-america-keep-the-lights-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Galactic Folly: Can Foster + Partners’ Spaceport America Keep the Lights On?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2011, Foster + Partner\u2019s Spaceport America<\/a> opened in the New Mexican desert with some wild fanfare: Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson propelled down the side of the building, champagne in hand, rockets soaring in the air, to christen the $220-million launchpad of the world\u2019s first civilian spaceflight. Four years down the line and nary a space launch to speak of, the New Mexican local government is starting to question the facility\u2019s worth. Last Thursday, lawmakers voted to advance a bill to sell it off completely, the Associated Press reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

\u201cI’m beginning to fear that the spaceport is a white elephant that was given to us by a former governor and an international billionaire,\u201d said Republican senator Mark Moores of Albuquerque, referring to Bill Richardson and Branson, respectively. The building itself spans 120,000 square feet, complemented by an additional two-mile-long runway and comprising 18,000 acres of surrounding land. So far, small space start-ups have made use of the large tracts of restricted airspace, but anchor tenant Virgin Galactic has yet to get any of its $250,000-a-ticket flights off the ground and make returns on the investment. The latest setback is a fatal test flight last fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of hoopla before that if \u2018We build it, they will come,\u2019 but it\u2019s been several years now and nobody\u2019s shown up yet,\u201d Democratic senator George Mu\u00f1oz of Gallup said in his statement putting forth the measure.<\/p>\n

Foster\u2019s stingray-like design looks like a space creature creeping its way out of the desert sand. While its perks include a central hangar flanked by space for administrative offices to the west and flight training and preparation areas to the east, plus amenities aiming for LEED Platinum certification, potential buyers remain unclear, putting New Mexico in a difficult situation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Foster + Partners<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Foster + Partners<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really see a private airport operator buying them, since it would be a very risky investment.,\u201d Bill Ostrove, an industry analyst for Forecast International told Forbes<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that no one would buy it. Then the New Mexico government would have to decide if they want to keep funding the spaceport or not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2011, Foster + Partner\u2019s Spaceport America opened in the New Mexican desert with some wild fanfare: Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson propelled down the side of the building, champagne in hand, rockets soaring in the air, to christen the $220-million launchpad of the world\u2019s first civilian spaceflight. Four years down the line and nary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"architizer_featured_type":"","architizer_featured_image":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-13564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry","category-inspiration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGalactic Folly: Can Foster + Partners' Spaceport America Keep the Lights On? - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.arc.ht\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/can-foster-partners-spaceport-america-keep-the-lights-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Galactic Folly: Can Foster + Partners' Spaceport America Keep the Lights On? - Architizer Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2011, Foster + Partner\u2019s Spaceport America opened in the New Mexican desert with some wild fanfare: Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson propelled down the side of the building, champagne in hand, rockets soaring in the air, to christen the $220-million launchpad of the world\u2019s first civilian spaceflight. 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