The National Geographic Channel did a nice program on the building of Spaceport America.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPzK0U0fays&w=700]

This episode of Megastructures does a good job of conveying the scale of the undertaking. It’s also interesting to see the little town of Hatch, NM. Central Market in Texas is currently holding its annual two-week Hatch Chili Festival. If not for Central Market, most people would never have heard of Hatch.

If successful, Spaceport America will provide new opportunities for many locals. At the same time, however, we must compare the $200+ million being spent on Spaceport America with the $40 million in incentives which Midland, TX is offering to XCOR Aerospace. New Mexico is staking a lot more money. Will Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America be five times as successful as XCOR?

This demonstrates, of course, the cost advantage of an existing airport like Midland International or Mojave over a greenfield site like Spaceport New Mexico. At some point, space commerce may outgrow such mixed-use facilities and New Mexico’s investment will start to look prescient. At the moment, however, no one can predict how soon that day will come.