Gateways to the stars: spaceport America

Abstract

Louise Murray visits the world's first private commercial spaceport in New Mexico to see how architects Foster and Partners have negotiated the harsh desert conditions, and discovers what the first space tourists can expect to experience. He found it an extraordinary building. Reminiscent of a prehistoric trilobite or a stingray, and winner of an international architectural competition in 2007, the structure taking shape in the high desert of New Mexico marks the site of the world's first purpose-built private commercial spaceport. Commissioned and funded by the state of New Mexico, designed by British architects Foster and Partners, Spaceport America will house the operations centre for Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which aims to send its first tourists into sub-orbital space in 2012.