SPACEPORT AMERICA COULD COST COUNTY JOBS

RUMOR MILL:  I was talking with a friend today who gave me some disturbing information.  He had visited with a man who had recently retired from White Sands Missile Range.  My friend related to me what his retired friend had told him. The retiree said  that contractors and customers who come to WSMR to test their products spend millions of dollars on a one day test of a missile or missile related project.  Any time delays on the project day, not associated with weather and attributable to military personnel at WSMR are charged to the military.  Delay costs can range as high as a million dollars a minute.  He went on to reveal an ongoing disagreement WSMR and Holloman AFB are having with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.  According to my friend, who prefers to remain anonymous; the New Mexico Spaceport authority refuses to cooperate with scheduling of missile testing, F-22 Raptor training, and testing of a new Predator drone craft at Holloman and WSMR.  Preliminary discussions of use of limited air space, military priority and national security with the New Mexico Space Authority have resulted in a stalemate.  NMSA arrogantly claims they will launch the Virgin Galatic Mothership whenever they want and in an easterly direction. The logic of the Spaceport America people on the NMSA board is, customers are paying $200,000 for a ride in the Virgin Galatic craft.  Customers will be treated to first class accommodations and be treated like royalty.  This will be New Mexico's premier tourist attraction with world reknown praise and publicity.  Spaceport America essentially is saying they will not make the 'uber-rich' wait on military testing at WSMR or on Holloman AFB.  

Both WSMR and Holloman have rigid restrictions on airspace in the Tularosa Basin.  If the Virgin Galatic Mothership strays into WSMR airspace, or even worse into Holloman and F-22 airspace; missile tests and training flights will have to be postponed or interrupted.  This is where the possibility of the military paying a million dollars a minute 'fine' for delays in contractor testing of new military programs.

My friend told me that if military contractors feel their testing capacity at WSMR is threatened by an oppulent commercial 'space joy ride', they would take their products and business elsewhere.  This would translate into lost jobs for civilian workers at WSMR.  He also told me there is a real feeling of resentment agaisnt the Spaceport America radio and prints ads for claiming to be  part of the history of NASA and WSMR and the contributions of the space program to American culture and technology.  ORF did not call WSMR to try to confirm this information.  As we have posted at the beginning of this post, this qualifies for RUMOR MILL status.  But, it sound plausible considering the misinformation and the source of the conception of Spaceport America and the three counties asked to fund the project.