Spaceport Tours

Bus ride launches Spaceport tourism

Updated: Wednesday, 23 Dec 2009, 7:27 AM MST
Published : Tuesday, 22 Dec 2009, 10:57 PM MST

• Pilot-Reporter: Bob Martin
• Web Producer: Bill Diven

UPHAM, N.M. (KRQE) - That new spaceport being built near Truth or Consequences is now hosting its first tourists, but instead of strapping themselves into a rocket, they're boarding a bus.

They may not be launching from Spaceport America, but they are getting a close-up look not only at the work going into building it but the rich history of a once-dangerous part of the state.

The long road to Spaceport America from T or C transports tourists across vast country and through time.

"This country has more history than anyplace in the United States," science teacher Jerry Brown said.

Brown, a former NASA engineer, takes tourists on weekends to look over spaceport construction and learn about the heritage of the place.

The 400-year-old Camino Real, the royal road from Spanish Mexico to Santa Fe, still can be seen tracking through the scrub desert.

Along this stretch, called the Jornada del Muerto, which translates to Journey of the Dead Man, Brown said there are about 13 graves for every mile.

'When someone passed away, they didn't carry them any farther," Brown told one group of travelers. "They just stopped the caravan, they went and dug a hole, they had a Mass and then the caravan moved on."

There are also stories about later travelers from pioneers to desperados to Apache leader Geronimo.

"Part of our job is to give the people the history of New Mexico, the history of spaceflight, the history of this area and then a glimpse into the future," Brown said.

Brown started Jornada History Tours years ago in an old Volkswagen contraption fitted with airliner seats.

He has added a larger van for spaceport tours.

Alongside the old Camino Real the 10,000-foot Spaceport America runway is rapidly taking shape.

In 2011 Virgin Galactic says it will begin launching tourists here with each paying $200,000 for five minutes of floating around in space and gazing at the earth.

Today tourists visiting the construction site witness the gritty work required to create a space complex from scratch.

Engineer Steve Wade of David Montoya Construction said runway builders are taking extra steps to insure quality.

"Everything is very consistent," Wade said. "We can control the moisture content; we can control how much cement is put in there."

Crews are also proud of their recycling.

The asphalt machine is fired with waste oil, and some paving material comes from old pavement ripped out of highway projects.

"It makes me feel good knowing that not only are we making a high-quality product, but we are taking some unused refuse out of New Mexico and using it for a good purpose," Wade said.

When space travelers someday lift off from the site they will just continue a journey started many centuries ago, according to Brown.

"What an epic history for humans to be able to do that entire journey from walking barefooted up this trail to blasting 65 miles into the air above this trail," he said.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/technology/bus-ride-launches-spaceport-tourism