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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Proponents hail this remote corner of New Mexico as an ideal location for a spaceport: the weather is dry and clear year round, and at 4,500 ft. above sea level, jokes Steve Landeene, the spaceport's executive director, "the first mile is free." Physicist Robert Goddard developed modern rocketry here in the 1930s; in 1947, a mysterious object crashed to earth outside Roswell, making the town synonymous with UFO conspiracy theories. Thanks to the restricted airspace over the neighboring White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base, there's also hardly any commercial air traffic. (Watch an interview...
Indeed, not all New Mexicans are enthralled by the spaceport. Having toured the state, Landeene sums up taxpayers' objections this way: "It's rich men into space. Why in heck are we paying for Richard Branson? It's his deal. Let him do it." Ranchers in the area have also complained that they've had to reduce the size of their herds and move cattle away from the construction, though compromises are slowly being worked...
Supporters expect the project to mean great things for the Land of Enchantment. With site tours and a museum planned, organizers hope to welcome 1 million visitors annually. An independent study has forecast up to 5,000 new jobs and a $1 billion boost to the region's economy as Virgin Galactic and other aerospace companies move from tourism into commercial spaceflight like low-cost satellite launches...
...Before New Mexico meets its future, however, it has to reckon with its past. Human habitation here dates back 12,000 years; in the 16th century the storied Camino Real - a 1,500-mile trade route from Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo, near Santa Fe - passed through the spaceport site. Because of this history, the Federal Government required a cultural-resources survey before construction could begin, as well as constant monitoring since. So on this balmy afternoon, archaeologist Elizabeth Oster is examining a spot she says is "right smack in the middle of the runway." If she unearths anything...
ALEC BALDWIN, vowing to quit acting in 2012 because he considers his big-screen career a "complete failure," during an interview to promote his new film, It's Complicated...