Spaceport America

Spaceport America is a state-owned launch complex in Sierra County, New Mexico, operated by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Built on 18,000 acres of State Trust Land adjacent to White Sands Missile Range, it was purpose-built for commercial spaceflight rather than converted from a military or government facility. The site includes a 12,000-foot concrete runway, vertical launch complexes, and roughly 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace overhead. The first rocket launch there took place on September 25, 2006, and in May 2021 Virgin Galactic flew the VSS Unity from the site, making New Mexico the third U.S. state to launch humans into space. Tenants and regular users have included Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, SpinLaunch, and HAPSMobile AeroVironment, with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds using the facility as a winter training ground each year since 2021.