{"id":959,"date":"2009-12-23T15:26:57","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T23:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.keys-soap.com\/chill\/?p=959"},"modified":"2015-06-29T13:26:42","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T20:26:42","slug":"black-sky-in-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chilltravelers.com\/chill\/black-sky-in-new-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Sky in New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bob & Wendy\u2019s Galactic Adventures at Spaceport America<\/strong><\/p>\n

Near Las Cruces New Mexico by Bob Root<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Our View of the Organ Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment the license plates and signs say!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the Christmas Holiday approaches my days have slowed a bit allowing me to reflect and breath.<\/p>\n

My day today began as usual with a cup of home brewed coffee made with our high tech Aeropress seated at my computer scanning new emails.\u00a0 A vendor offered a real-deal on a piece of gear I have wanted, so I called them to get my order in right away.\u00a0 As I placed the order the gal asked for the shipping address.\u00a0 I said 1200 Rear Drive\u2026\u2026..Las Cruces.\u00a0 She said can you spell that and I did.\u00a0 She said\u2026..and the State?\u00a0 I said New Mexico!\u00a0 She said Oh, wait a minute.\u00a0 I am sorry sir; this offer is not<\/span> available outside the US.\u00a0 I laughed and explained that we are a part of the union and that New Mexico is the place between Texas and Arizona.<\/p>\n

Yet another funny incident that Wendy and I have experienced in our love for this great State.\u00a0 It did cause me to reflect for a few moments on the pace of our society and what we seem to find important or not!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Los Alamos National Labs, New Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the New Mexico allure for us?\u00a0 Some believe it is because this is the place we met along the Pecos River near Santa Fe.\u00a0 I guess that is a part of it.\u00a0 Some believe it is because this is the place we were married near Taos.\u00a0 Others who know us very well know that it is because it is the land of innovation.\u00a0 Big Time Innovation and that is what it makes it the land of enchantment for us.\u00a0 Along with her people and history, New Mexico continues to inspire and lead us.<\/p>\n

If you look back in history and trek around New Mexico you will find out so much that little know about this state.\u00a0 Being a Geek, the tech history abounds.\u00a0 Beginning with the Manhattan Project, a UFO crash in Roswell, the evolution of Los Alamos National Labs, Sandia, Alamogordo, White Sands and hundreds of other projects, you might wonder, \u201cWhat\u2019s Next?\u201d<\/p>\n

What do the Trinity site, Ted Turner, Richard Branson, Governor Bill Richardson, (yes, the Bill Richardson) Burt Rutan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown (not the Jerry Brown) all have in common?\u00a0 Space Travel New Mexico style!<\/p>\n

On December 12, 2009, Wendy and I boarded a custom bus in a town called Truth or Consequences.\u00a0 Named for the old game show, T or C is closest to Las Cruces on Interstate 25 south of Albuquerque.\u00a0 Small and sleepy, they do not comprehend what is about to hit them.<\/p>\n

Our host Jerry Brown began to talk about the history and how the spaceport is the only area in America with a base to unlimited flight clearance.\u00a0 As we drove east, he explained \u00a0that this is the only place that you can take off and go into space without restricted air clearances.\u00a0 How come we wondered? \u00a0Who had this foresight or was it a part of a bigger plan.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Buffalo Herd at Armendaris Ranch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we passed Elephant Butte we entered the Armendaris Ranch<\/a> owned by, you guessed it, Ted Turner. \u00a0This vast 358,643-acre ranch lies in south central New Mexico and contains some of the most pristine Chihuahuan desert grassland in the Southwest. Its Fra Cristobal Mountain range is home to a reintroduced population of desert bighorn sheep, and the Bolson’s tortoise has recently been reintroduced to its grasslands\u00a0\u2013\u00a0both species are managed by the\u00a0Turner Endangered Species Fund<\/a>. Other large mammals on the ranch include bison, pronghorn, desert mule deer, cougar and oryx. The volcanic crater at Armendaris is a migratory sanctuary for one of the largest Mexican free-tailed bat populations in North America.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Wendy with Jerry Brown (left)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we drove through the ranch, we stopped at various locations to hear the history of the area from local historian, Jerry Brown.\u00a0 No doubt, Jerry knows more about this area than probably anyone.\u00a0 And he has a couple of special connections to this project.\u00a0 As a rancher, his property borders Spaceport America.\u00a0 Even more special is that Dr. Jerry Brown trained astronauts for NASA.\u00a0 Retiring, New Mexico style, a few years ago, it was our special privilege to receive a personally guided tour by this special man of the land, history and the new Spaceport America.<\/p>\n

Have you heard what is going on here?\u00a0 Hello!!!\u00a0 We are going into space with the first commercial flights beginning as early as a year from now.\u00a0 Yes one year….2010….December!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Construction Vehicles at the Spaceport on Runway One<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we reached the main Armendaris ranch offices, we found ourselves in a town called Engle New Mexico.\u00a0 At Engle, we turned south on a new highway to accommodate the huge trucks and earth movers that continue to arrive daily.\u00a0 As we headed south we passed through another town named Cutter and drove toward Upham.\u00a0 Jerry told us that these towns had been named for the engineers that piloted the steam trains along the only north-south rail in New Mexico.\u00a0 The same tracks that delivered equipment for an equally momentous big hairy audacious goal, The Atomic Bomb now carry supplies for another big hairy project called Spaceport America.<\/p>\n

You see, New Mexico really is at the center of a lot of neat shit.\u00a0 In fact, much of the technology of Keys was born at Los Alamos, Alamogordo and Sandia National Labs.\u00a0 Not the least of which is our nanotechnology based sunblock, Solar Rx.<\/p>\n

Just before Upham, we came upon a security entrance and we were boarded by a neatly dressed guard with a strange patch on his shoulder.\u00a0 It said Virgin Galactic.\u00a0 Young and friendly, he told us that we would be met by a project engineer, that we were free to take pictures and experience something that only a few had seen before us.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, Jerry told us that we were one of the first tours and that the Discovery Channel was filming at the Vertical Launch site.\u00a0 I thought, holy shit, they are going to do vertical launches here too? It wasn\u2019t just the massive runway that we were about to see that would launch the Burt Rutan creations from this first commercial space flights from this Spaceport?<\/p>\n

We stopped the bus after crossing the center of the runway and we were greeted by a young engineer from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.\u00a0 Aaron greeted us with enthusiasm and an openness that we did not expect.\u00a0 Actually, I am not sure what we were expecting and every subsequent experience was more than awesome the one before.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aaron and Wendy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Standing at the edge of the runway, Aaron told us it was thirty (30) yards wide and when complete would be ten thousand feet long.\u00a0 He said it would be grooved and it totaled 28\u201d thick.\u00a0 A layer of a special sand and gravel mixture would be covered by a thick layer of asphalt and then another layer of seamless concrete.\u00a0 I suspected that he was offering the party line because what I was looking at was at least 100 yards wide and from the trip in, if we were indeed standing in the middle of the runway, it will be more like 15,000 feet long.\u00a0 And, if it is grooved like they say, some really fast aircraft will be landing here.\u00a0 This leads me to believe that this space port is going to be used for much more than Virgin Galactic.<\/p>\n

There are some ironies in this place.\u00a0 Literally 200 yards from us are the visible remains of the Santa Fe Trail.\u00a0 A sacred place to the Catholic\u2019s, Spaniard\u2019s and various Indian tribes.\u00a0 So sacred and respected that the Spaceport\u2019s hanger terminal will have earthen mounds built in such a way as to hide their view when the followers take their pilgrimages along the trail.\u00a0 I suspect that this is a symbolic gesture as I believe this will become a very busy place with many hotels and structures to house the flyers and visitors.\"\"<\/p>\n

It is very difficult to describe the intensity of emotions that we felt here.\u00a0 The enthusiasm of all involved, the enormity of the project and the realization that it is just around the corner when common people will be able to buy a ticket to space.\u00a0 And then, what is next.\u00a0 What will happen beyond this grand project?\u00a0 How will history record the early flights?\u00a0 What will people see, hear and feel as the first civilian pioneers ride the wonderfully design space ships that Burt Rutan conceived and built.\u00a0 What else will fly from here and what will arrive here?<\/p>\n

What strikes me even more is how few people know of this grand project.\u00a0 I fear and believe that it is because we as a society spend too much time looking for what is wrong and not enough time looking for what is right. \u00a0To Wendy and I, this is right!<\/p>\n

The New Mexican\u2019s I have met and talked to are mostly proud of what is going on out there in the high desert.\u00a0 Even though every citizen of New Mexico is poised to spend $1100.00 each in taxes for it to happen, they seem to have a collective faith that it will bring good with some even saying that it will be the place that will begin to turn-around America.\u00a0 Most do sit and marvel at the negative attitudes \u201cBack East.\u201d \u00a0Most believe that change will occur in the west where it always has!<\/p>\n

For Wendy and me, the experience of seeing this, meeting the young talent building it and feeling the courage and determination of Sir Richard Branson, Burt Rutan and Bill Richardson to make this all happen is inspiring.<\/p>\n

Black Sky and The Race for Space<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Spaceport West Facility<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, let me try to give you an idea as best as I can do about what this will look like, what will happen here and the experiences of the first commercial space travelers leaving earth from Spaceport America.<\/p>\n

Sometime around May of 2011 this earth base space port will be fully operational.\u00a0 Cradled between two mountain ranges, will be a long, very flat, very straight and very wide runway.\u00a0 Visitors and flyers will arrive via a beautiful ride through the mountains east of Truth or Consequences or via a new road from the south that approaches through the high valley from Las Cruces.\u00a0 With the Organ Mountains to their right, people will witness one of the most beautiful areas of New Mexico with Buffalo roaming on the road side in herds as large as 800.\u00a0 In front of them will be a modern respectful structure that will first appear simple and clean.\u00a0 The desert brush and landscape will be preserved giving one the sense that there has been not much to disturb this sacred ground.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Spaceport Terminal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As they arrive at the terminal hanger, their hearts will race as they prepare to fly or just watch.\u00a0 The children\u2019s whose eyes will be wide with wonderment will become the next dreamers and builders of what will come next here.\u00a0 Inspired by the Star Trek , the builders of this place will be the inspiration and real heroes for which these children will create when they have grown.<\/p>\n

I like to tell the story of the brilliant engineer working for Burt Rutan in Mojave California.\u00a0 Jim Tighe was the driving force behind the aerodynamics of SpaceshipOne, the airplane that won the coveted Ansari X Prize. For his achievements, Design News readers have voted him Engineer of the Year.\u00a0 The story I like to tell came from an interview with Jim\u2019s parents.\u00a0 The reporter asked Jim\u2019s mom if he had a security blanket that he carried with him when he was young.\u00a0 She said, well yes\u2026 sort of.\u00a0 He carried an extension cord everywhere with him.\u00a0 Inspired by the crew of the starship Enterprise, Jim and his colleges are about to become the inspiration of the next generations.<\/p>\n

When the flyer and visitors arrive, they will go into a modern unworldly looking hanger that is also the grand terminal for Virgin Galactic.\u00a0 They will view a film of how this all began in a Disneyesque fashion.\u00a0 They will see the maiden voyage where Sir Richard Branson, his mom, wife and kids along with the family dog joined Burt Rutan on the first flight in 2010.\u00a0 Then it will be their turn for a six hour weightless experience in what is called, \u201cBlack Sky!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Spaceship Two “Eve”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spaceship Two is a larger version of Spaceship One that won the X-Prize for the first reusable spacecraft to make two trips into the Black Sky within a two week period.\u00a0 Now named Eve after Branson\u2019s mum. It will be locked under the center wing of White Knight Two.\u00a0 White Knight will roll from the hanger with Eve in tow.\u00a0 They will taxi down the runway toward the beginning and turn around pointed south.\u00a0 The turbines will spool up and the six passengers on Eve will be in a semi-reclining position as they begin to roll and pick up speed.\u00a0 Smoothly, White Knight will turn up skyward.\u00a0 When they reach launch altitude, White Knight will release Eve and for a moment they will part quietly.\u00a0 Eve will drop away gliding as White Knight turn away releasing Eve to fire her rocket motor.<\/p>\n

The quiet will be emotional for these passengers.\u00a0 Then the rocket motor will fire and Eve will thrust forward pushing them into their seats.\u00a0 The horizontal flight will turn vertical and they will speed continually until the rocket motor is extinguished.\u00a0 Again quiet will befall them as they continue through momentum into space.\u00a0 There, they will have time to gaze upon the earth as only a few have experienced.\u00a0 They will see the blue ball with the life giving ozone haze around it below and above the black sky of space.\u00a0 As they unbuckle their seat restraints, they will float and giggle like children.\u00a0 Peering through the windows, they will have an unearthly experience that will probably change their lives forever.\u00a0 Then it will be time to return.<\/p>\n

Eve will not carry big heat shields to permit a fiery return to earth like all the space ships that came before her.\u00a0 Actually, she will uplift her wings and morph from a space ship into a shuttlecock and flutter through the atmosphere in total silence.\u00a0 At a prescribed altitude, she will return her wings to a horizontal position and begin her decent as a glider.\u00a0 With White Sands to her right, she will point north.\u00a0 Gliding lower with the Trinity Atomic Bomb site to her right she will begin a slow silent banking turn to the left.\u00a0 The automate ILS system will guide here over the desert and the spirits of all those Conquistadors of centuries gone by.\u00a0 The Buffalo will look upward to see this silent sleek bird on final approach.\u00a0 From the observation deck in the terminal, the next flyers will watch as she lands as quietly as she has flown.\u00a0 Wondering as they prepare to sleep in anticipation of their flight, they will strain to see the faces, tears of emotion and wonderment in the eyes of those returning to mother earth from their Virgin Galactic experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Looking Toward Trinity and White Sands – Toward Alamogordo NM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Standing on the runway this day in December of 2009, it was easy for me to go back to my childhood.\u00a0 Waiting every last week of every month for my Popular Science magazine to arrive through the mail slot. I would immediately sit down and read it cover to cover often rereading the exploits of the early days of manned space flights.\u00a0 Reading about those heroic astronauts and the guy standing next to me who helped make them heroes, I have always been inspired by space.\u00a0 Like many, I had grown complacent and a bit numb, Messrs. Branson, Rutan and Richardson have inspired me to once again dream the big dreams.\u00a0 Just imagine what it will be like.\u00a0 If it was anything like our experience in these past four hours in the high desert of New Mexico it would be amazing.<\/p>\n

And then it was over.\u00a0 Wendy and I in the car headed back to Las Cruces, we decided to forego the freeway and follow the Rio Grande River as it wound south toward our coach parked near Old Town Mesilla.\u00a0 Remembering that it was just a few hundred miles north along the Pecos River that we first met, we realized again that New Mexico is a very special place for us with both history and future.<\/p>\n

It is easy for me to envision what it will be like.\u00a0 It is easy to imagine.\u00a0 If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then indeed a movie is worth ten thousand pictures.\u00a0 So here are a couple of simulations of what it might be like.
\n,<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We plan to return a year from now to see what it looks like and experience some of this for ourselves.\u00a0 If you are so inclined, here is a link to Virgin Galactic<\/strong><\/a> where you can book your reservations online for a ride into space.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Spaceport America<\/a><\/strong> and sign up for one of Jerry\u2019s tours click the link.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Spaceport Hanger Maintaining the Natural Look.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All worth the experience and\u2026.Just imagine. \u00a0I can!<\/p>\n

More to come!<\/p>\n

Bob<\/p>\n

[mappress]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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My day today began as usual with a cup of home brewed coffee made with our high tech [–Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,54,14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"category-chill-travelers","9":"category-interesting-people","10":"category-see"},"yoast_head":"\nBlack Sky in New Mexico - ChillTravelers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chilltravelers.com\/chill\/black-sky-in-new-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Black Sky in New Mexico - ChillTravelers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Bob & Wendy\u2019s Galactic Adventures at Spaceport America Near Las Cruces New Mexico by Bob Root   New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment the license plates and signs say!   As the Christmas Holiday approaches my days have slowed a bit allowing me to reflect and breath. 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