"Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world," the official website says.

"The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, has a rocket friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot by 200-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity.

"Some of the most respected companies in the commercial space industry are tenants at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, HAPS Mobile/ AeroVironment, UP Aerospace, and SpinLaunch. With customers EXOS Aerospace and Swift Engineering regularly using the complex for testing and launches."

"Spaceport America, formerly the Southwest Regional Spaceport, is an FAA-licensed spaceport located on 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin 45 miles (72 km) north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Truth or Consequences. With Virgin Galactic's launch of the VSS Unity, with three people aboard, on May 22, 2021, New Mexico became the third US state to launch humans into space after California and Florida.

"Spaceport America is "the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport", designed and constructed specifically for commercial users, that had not previously been an airport or federal infrastructure of any kind. The site is built to accommodate both vertical and horizontal launch aerospace vehicles, as well as an array of non-aerospace events and commercial activities. Spaceport America is owned and operated by the State of New Mexico, via a state agency, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. The first rocket launch at Spaceport America occurred on September 25, 2006.

"The current tenants working in the U.S. spaceport are HAPSMobile Aerovironment, UP Aerospace, SpinLaunch, and Virgin Galactic."  (Wikipedia)

"As the Space Shuttle program drew to a close during the early 2000s, several like-minded entrepreneurs sought a different approach to homesteading space. While incredible and chock full of milestones, the Shuttle program was approved in 1972 and promised low-cost, routine trips to low Earth orbit; however, the reality of the program proved to be quite different, with costs per mission averaging $450 million per mission by 2011,"  the Celestis.com says.

"Space visionaries were searching for ways to send payloads to space that were less expensive, and required less “red tape” and governmental oversight. In addition, private citizens and businesses desired access to space.

"The land that would become Spaceport America was particularly appealing due to its expansive open acreage and year-round complimentary weather. While Spaceport America, situated 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, didn’t officially “open” until 2011 (its Visitor Center didn’t open until 2015), Celestis Memorial Spaceflights’ heritage at the Spaceport spans back to well before its doors opened to the public. On November 30th, “the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport” will host Celestis’ ninth Earth Rise Service, the Aurora Flight."

"Spaceport America is the world’s first commercial spaceport designed and constructed for commercial space flight. It is located 45 miles north of Las Cruces at an elevation of 4,600 above sea level. Built on 18,000 acres of land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin, the spaceport is adjacent to the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range and under 6,000 square miles of protected airspace,"  the Visit Las Cruces says.

"Spaceport America has FAA-licensed horizontal and vertical launch areas that attract innovative entrepreneurial tenants including some of the most well-respected companies in the commercial space industry: anchor tenant Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, HAPSMobile, AeroVironment, SpinLaunch, and more.

"Although tenant operations remain private, public tours are offered of the spaceport grounds. Final Frontier Tours departs from Visit Las Cruces, 336 S. Main St. Tour guides offer background of the site and visitors can experience the G-Shock simulator and see the runway to space– all in the beautiful high desert of southern New Mexico. Tours must be booked in advance."

"For 300 years, explorers and settlers crossed New Mexico by way of the Camino Real trail. If you travel that route today, you can view the latest phase of human exploration: Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial space launch facility,"  the Smithsonian Magazine says.

"The sprawling 670,000-square-foot complex is the hub for billionaire Richard Branson’s company Virgin Galactic, which advertises affordable access to space for scientific missions, small satellites and tourists. At the heart of the facility is the terminal hangar “Gateway to Space,” which houses a 4,000-square-foot gallery where visitors can watch launches.

"Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic will con­tinue test flights of the tourist vessel, SpaceShipTwo (SS2), a suborbital spaceplane that seats six passengers and two pilots. A mothership will ferry it to a launch altitude of 9.5 miles and detach itself. During the two-hour flight, the SS2 will briefly reach an altitude of 68 miles—six miles above the boundary of space. At that point, for roughly five minutes, passengers will be able to unstrap themselves and experience microgravity."

"Virgin Galactic made history by opening the world's first commercial spaceport, dubbed "Spaceport America." The project has been six years in the making, and quite apart from the fact that it's a spaceport, it's a pretty brilliant design - LEED certified and equipped with geothermal heating and cooling," the Forbes Magazine says.

"Branson and his children, Sam and Holly, who will be the first commercial passengers on SpaceShipTwo, brought the event to a spectacular conclusion by officially naming the world’s first purpose-built spaceline terminal as the “Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space” while rappelling together from the roof of the striking new building.

"This comes on the heels of Virgin announcing a new contract with NASA for three chartered research flights aboard its SpaceShip Two worth $4.5 million. Over 150 people have already placed deposits on a ticket into outer space for tickets priced at $200,000 apiece, and over 430 have made a reservation."

"In June of 2023, British engineers from BAE Systems utilized Spaceport America, and its partner U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, as a proving ground to complete a stratospheric flight of its high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS), it's an Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) – PHASA-35," the KVIA says.

"Over a 24-hour period, PHASA-35 soared to more than 66,000 feet, reaching the stratosphere, before landing. The trial gave BAE Systems’ engineering team to assess the performance of the experimental solar-electric drone within the planet’s atmosphere.

"This is the starting point of a series of tests for PHASA-35. Following the successes, PHASA-35 could be cleared for use in defense and commercial markets in North America, Europe, and the rest of the world."

"Spaceport America, billed as the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport, is taking shape some 30 miles (48 km) east of Truth or Consequences and 45 miles (72 km) north of Las Cruces, N.M.," the NBC News says.

"A critical centerpiece of Spaceport America is putting in place a runway to space. Measuring 10,000 feet long by 200 feet wide that stretch of tarmac is designed to handle horizontal launch space and air operations at the spaceport.

"Virgin Galactic, the suborbital spaceline operator, is the anchor tenant for Spaceport America, also making use of a Terminal Hangar Facility."