New Mexico delegation tries to lure new XS-1 space plane to WSMR, Spaceport America

All five members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation have written a letter to company officials at Boeing asking that they include Spaceport America and White Sands Missile Range in the development of a new reusable space aircraft named the Phantom Express.

Boeing recently was awarded the contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for development of a reusable spacecraft that can deploy a medium payload at a lower cost.

The Phantom Express will “reinvent space missions for commercial and government customers by providing rapid, aircraft-like access to space,” according to information on Boeing’s website. “Within minutes, the autonomous, reusable spaceplane would launch its upper stage to deploy small satellites into low Earth orbit. It would then land on a runway to be prepared for its next flight.”

Boeing is in the scoping phase for deciding a primary site for the XS-1 program, and New Mexico’s congressional delegation wrote to highlight the state’s unique advantages such as unrestricted airspace and the capabilities already in place at both WSMR and the spaceport.

More:Is Spaceport America taking flight?

“These sites have the necessary infrastructure in place, including access to essential technologies, an able and ready workforce, incomparable access to airspace, and other testing capabilities to support operations and our nation’s security interests,” said Rep. Pearce. “New Mexico has unique geographic benefits that will allow it to continue to grow as an exemplary location for training and testing projects going forward. In addition, New Mexico has a long history in the space sector, including NASA’s White Sands division which has supported every U.S. manned space mission to date.”

The letter stressed the geographic advantages in southern New Mexico.

“From a resiliency perspective, we believe strongly that our nation needs to obtain strategic inland space launch capabilities and are confident that your organization would greatly benefit from this type of joint venture,” it said. “We are committed to working with various federal agencies and the commercial sector to ensure that the billions of dollars that have been spent at WSMR, (the spaceport), and the surrounding area are leveraged to support our national security interests such as the XS-1 spaceplane and other commercial space enterprises.”