|
On the spaceport there are already launch possibilities for vertical-launch rockets (which sadly could not be visited), and also test pads for vertical launch and landing vehicles like e.g. from Armadillo Aerospace. These are separate from the Virgin Galactic facilities and are used for activities like test flights for the Lunar Lander contest.
Desert landscape in the south of New Mexico
Elephant Butte Lake near Elephant Butte, the start point of the tour
Entrance to the Spaceport grounds, in the background are the hangar facility (right) and Mission Control (left)
Proof of evidence that I was there;-)
Pad for landing tests on crater sites
Pads for normal launch and landing tests
Vehicle of Follow The Sun Tours, the company offering the visits
The San Andres Mountains, behind them is the White Sands Missile Range
One of the crater test pads close-up
Up Aerospace has also a place of business here
The quarry where the construction material comes from
Hangar facility, still under construction - later it is supposed to be completely ground-covered and overgrown
Who now wants to visit the spaceport as well, can get informed in the links below.
|
During the planning phase of the spaceport environmental and energy-conserving issues were already considered, also it was accounted for the buildings to fit into the landscape harmonically despite their futuristic design.
The Mission Control building
Panoramic view of the spaceport
Close-up of Mission Control
The roof is covered with ceramic tiles
Close-up of the hangar facility
Hangar for carrier aircraft and spaceships...
...with bridge for future space travellers
Front side panorama windows
View to runway and San Andres Mountains with wave clouds (Lenticularis) in the sky
Mirroring of the runway in the frontside windows
The hangar facility viewed from the runway
Elephant Butte Lake with very low water level
The dam of Elephant Butte Lake (constructed 1916) and the Rio Grande
|
