Inside the risky venture of Spaceport America
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- Опубликовано: 29 дек 2019
- In the middle of the New Mexico desert lies Spaceport America, a glittering, alien structure advertised as the very first purpose-built commercial spaceport. It’s home to Virgin Galactic, a space startup that promises to send tourists into orbit as early as next year. But even if that milestone happens, it will follow years of delays, setbacks, and even tragedy. Local residents in the nearby town of Truth or Consequences were told to expect big things when New Mexico joined the private space economy, but many now wonder if the dream of a space industry will ever materialize.
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How much would you spend on a space tour?
@Michael Hankins what's wrong with your sense of adventure?
Maximum $45000
@Michael Hankins
lol that's not much
@Michael Hankins Republicans lol.
200.00
People spending $250k for a ten minute ride aren't going to spend the night in a roadside motel!
Agreed. Their friends might though?
Might have to. ^.^
would Bieber stay in a meth and heroin infested town like this?
Same...
Nor will the space tourist's imagined thousands of guests. I mean seriously, how many rooms does The Rocket Inn have ? A dozen ?
If (huge giant IF) any of the space tourists stay at The Rocket Inn it won't be the celebrities. It'll be the dreamer who sold their future (second mortgage on their home, that they'll never live to pay off) for a 10 minute amusement park ride and souvenirs. They'll stay at The Rocket Inn because it's the last $50 they have to their name... if they aren't just sleeping in their car.
"a second mortgage on the house to buy a ticket".
....and that kids how the 2028 financial crash happened.
Imagine the photos you could post on social media, though.
Your IG would be lit when you show your bankruptcy attorney.
Sooner, much sooner.
People putting a second mortgage on their house, just for a ticket, is a truly terrifying proposition. Damn..
@@sharaudramey9336 LOL
“Congratulations, you’re the first astronaut from X country.”
As if taking a private spaceplane makes you any more of an astronaut than taking a cruise makes you a marine.
the only person that should get there astronaut wings here is the pilot
If they fly to the same height they won’t internationally actually be in space. (82 km vs the 100 km boundary line).
The better analogy is taking a cruise making you a sailor.
OOF
Hahaha, brilliant! Well put!
"Let everybody have a chance to experience it." Joke of the century.
It's not. Prices will drop over time.
@@andrewcool4587 But why privatize the gains and socialize the losses
remember when only the rich or the rich where able to afford air travel? my grandma does.
@@andrewcool4587 With existing technology. No matter how many customers they get, I don't see prices move. Maybe if mankind invents something revolutionary in the meantime we may see prices drop. Anti-gravity, supersafe propulsion engine or space habitate.. who knows. My hopes are high but not just on the existing tech.
Isn't the 1% people? I mean the rest of us are not really treated like people. We're more like a mixture of labrats, cattle and slaves.
Truth or Consequences is a really cool name for a town
It was initially called like, Hot Springs or something to that effect, but apparently it was renamed to Truth or Consequences because of a radio game show. Or so, that's what I recall anyway.
@@policarpo1961 That's pretty interesting, thanks
It's perfect for the consequences of this space quest for profit
There is a Doctor Who episode what takes place here, not without a reason.
ArcanePhysics Fun fact, they got their name when the town played truth or dare.
Bit silly. People who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these space tours would never stay at the Rocket Inn anyways...
their friends might?
Correct, they will stay at one of the high end chain hotels (Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental) built immediately next to the Space Port. Or, simply fly in on their private jet, take the rocket, fly out the same day.
@@deeparks3112 yeah that's probably true, but well off people also like nostalgic things, so a few probably will go with Rocket Inn. Even if they don't, for now (in the future robotization may replace most of those jobs) Marriott, Hilton, and Intercontinental need employees so jobs will spring up. As a result, the city will likely grow a little as well.
Victor
I’m just going to sleep in my Private Jet when I do it 🤷🏻♂️
@@deeparks3112 I don't think they will be in and out in a day. They'll come to party and parts of T&C could become a desert Harlem for a night or two.
I can’t believe a state government paid for this
No company asked them to or wanted them to. States always want to be involved in these things so they can take credit for success. Given the option of "sell us some land and stay completely out of our way", companies will almost always take that option. Instead they end up choosing from the "best" deals with states that are on offer. The media rarely covers this angle on these stories.
People in America have the mental capacity of a 12 year old child. You can sell us anything. None of these spaceports will work as they dont have the billions in infrastructure Kennedy Space Center has.
I would settle for patched roads, but I guess a space port will do.
Yeah that's the most insane part of the story imho.
Tax money, gov does not care !
"At the end of the day, we really don't care." This is how I feel about the Camden space port just north of me.
Building a commercial spaceport before securing a tenant is pretty wild lol
You will care when a couple decades from now, after everyone near the town suddenly gets cancer, we all discover the hugely carcinogenic rocket ‘fuel’ and ‘oxidisers’ leached into your drinking water.
Enjoy, local citizen!
It’s the reality of practically every town in the world TODAY which is on or near an Air Force Base... it’s already been happening for decades.
Carcinogenic ‘firefighting foam’ which they used almost daily in drills to practice putting out jet fuel fires have killed thousands so far, after they discovered it was dumped into ground water.
Firefighters and locals all around the world near air bases are dropping like flies.
:)
@@DrSardonicus My city is already home to a couple of industrial waste disasters and I have misgivings about the industrial chemical plant less than a mile from my home.
Same, but it's south of me cus I'm in Canada.
@@jedediahoakwynn-dough5769 It's more south of you than it is north of me; I'm in the next county. If it's everything it's hyped up to be I could stand to benefit economically, but I think it's going to be an economic snooze-fest if it even comes together at all.
"a second mortgage on the house to buy a ticket".
Yes count me in..
Vipul Petkar second mortgage ?? This is a down payment here in SoCal.
Actually that sounds like something people would do. Hey might even be worth it if your a space nut or a sensation seeker. Yeah you still need to be on the wealthy side but at this point your more talking upper middle class in the 75k a year range.
Yeah - sounds like a plan - what could go wrong
Vipul Petkar I have friends who are obsessed with the idea of going into space. It’s not for me but I can see the thrill of it. It’s definitely a story to tell people.
“What did you do Jim?”
“Went to Big Bear. And you Doug?”
“Ah, nothing, just went into space!”
FOMO
Did they really think that the multi millionaires would stay at a motel and buy stuff from a gift shop?
WTH?
They'll possibly make their own
"Oh yeah, I'll just whip out another mortgage and have a good time!"
I'm looking forward to seeing prices drop with industrialisation, but I'd rather buy a ticket that will put me in Orbit, not just a pop. If I'm going to spend the majority of my money, I need it to be worth it.
Yeah, all that for a FEW MINUTES in space? Screw that.
You also realize that both those instances aren't worth it, right? Not the best comparison for an alternative for when it's "worth it".
@Lyonard Maduro I'd pay $250k for a one-way ticket to a space colony. Otherwise, it's just a lavishly expensive vacation.
Well bear in mind I wouldn't treat or expect a vacation out of it, I'm a scientist and the experiments I could think of doing involving aquaculture alone either in orbit or on another planet, are my reasons for wanting to go. It's a hard place to get to so science is limited, even with the ISS - there are only 6 or so scientists on board at any given time... I would love to be one of the first thousand or hundred to join a permanent expedition, running multi-decade studies if I can. Whatever happens, whatever conditions, my priorities would be sustainable development of large scale life support on another planet.
So now maybe you can see why orbit or landing would be worth it to me but a few minutes? I can't do much with that beyond shout "Woo!" a few times and then I'm never going to buy a new diagnostic tool for the next few decades because I wasted all my grant money on a joy ride.
Yeah exactly. I'll only go to space if uts for 24hrs. Like a stay at a hotel. Gotta experience weightlessness!
Students visit Spaceport America every year for a rocket competition. When I went, they went to a town to the South called "Las Cruces". It's a larger town with a bigger population, a university, and a larger Spaceport America presence. Can I ask why that town (which was much more prepared for incoming tourism) wasn't covered?
bernard Li When the Spaceport was being proposed the main benefits were supposed to be for T or C. It was supposed to revitalize the town. So it makes sense why The Verge only covered T or C.
Like you mention, Las Cruces is only about an hour away from the Spaceport and has much nicer hotels, restaurants and infrastructure. Sadly, I think either the wealthy tourists will fly in from Albuquerque the day of their flight or stay in Las Cruces. I don’t see these small local businesses getting the huge promised benefits if/when the spaceport opens.
They did not even mention the IREC Space Port America Cup at all. I guess it has not that much of an impact, but nevertheless, it is an event that is hosted every year with at least a few hundred attendees.
I did some work with ARIS, one of two swiss participating teams, and hoped to see some rocket launches from the latest competition...
@@RCP-1136 I was at Spaceport last year, participating in 10k SRAD. Our rocket CATO'd about a second into the flight, unfortunately. Here's hoping next year will be better.
Las Cruces is a border town with a questionable reputation. I think I would rather stay in T&C where you could walk on the streets at night.
then it would be adequately covered, this piece would grab more attention and unfortunately the lack of background and knowledge of the timeline makes the piece even worse.
It's sad to see a government invest so much in a company instead of into its own people
because of all the pockets these companies fill in the government. It really shows you how bad money in politics is.
Samuel Santos , unlikely of what people think, the government isn’t an institute of design. It doesn’t realize R&D neither. We tend to expect the world from them. We just get what they are able to do.
They invested in the company to make the town an attraction, if people come to that town, they'll buy stuff from residents meaning that money will flow in, investing in a company is a normal thing, it's not always corruption, and companies at the end of the day need people, they can't operate by themselves and take all the money, they rely on others and by that, the money gets shared.
That’s New Mexico for ya. So desperate not to be....New Mexico
@@ldinti03 The sad thing is that governments are supposed to be that way. We have just come to terms with having an incompetent government and we believe it always like that. Looking over to our allies across the Atlantic you will see the difference. To be honest a lot of it is our fault.
Can't wait for your video next year when you compare the reactions of the town to today.
Me too
Got any news?
I feel sorry for the owners of rocket inn. They're never gonna get the clients and will end up being bankrupted.
well, go stay at their hotel or something. smh
They are idiots who thought that a lot of people would pay 250k for a space flight
I think if only one celebrity steps into their inn(while sharing it on social media), it will change their history for good.
I really wish such a thing happens for them.
@@captain_code Ok, I will start packing my bag and applying for US visa to go stay at their hotel or something to save their business. SMH
@Poof Exactly, people who can spend on 250k on space flight just for the hell of it will never set a foot on their establishment. That's unfortunate but it's true.
“The sky is...just blacker than black, and the earth is...super high definition, very bright.”
陳遠安 What a quote lmao
"for $250k..."
"democratize space; let everyone have a chance to experience it"
Gotta start somewhere. Do you think everyone was able to afford a plane ticket when they first became available?
@Leah Ann Mitchell really negative view, i mean yeah the prices may not drop for a while but considering how much a launch costs right now, considering how much rocket fuel costs and repairs cost for the Spaceship. The 250k makes sense. I doubt it'll go below 100k with our tech but we never know and, spacex did want to considering using its starship to do flights from one place to the next so you never know
@Leah Ann Mitchell Leah Ann Mitchell I was just using it as an example. I don't expect space tourism to be price comparable to an airline ticket in my life time. Capitalism is the only reason anyone has the opportunity for space tourism OR Commercial airline flights in the first place. No one knows what the future holds space tourism will most likely be a luxury for many many years but the price will inevitably go down.
Is there any NEED for anyone to take a cruise to the Bahamas? It's a luxury experience just the same, only this time technology is the main limiting factor as far as price goes. As tech improves price will decrease and demand will increase which will cause further innovation and in the long run will result in lower prices.
You also stated that you have never seen capitalism work this way before but that's incorrect. The very computing device you used to type this reply is miles more sophisticated than the most luxury computer 40 years ago that costed tens of thousands. Thanks to capitalism you now have 100,000x more computing power than the moon landings utilized in the palm of your hand.
How much does the alternative costs ? How much does it cost to fly on a Soyouz ?
Yeah... that's right...250k sounds cheap when you look at the alternative.
Compared to the $17 million it costs now, that’s incredibly cheap.
When he said that normal people were just taking out a second mortgage for a ticket ugh. These people are delusional.
Who are you to call them that, why does it matter to you. Maybe it's worth it to them
It's a life changing experience, and frankly I don't care how people spend their money
@@joeym9169 Lol I don't doubt it would be fun. Thats not the issue no one is taking out a mortgage for this no matter how much they want to. Only extremely rich people would can do this and thats what the rep was trying to blur the lines on.
@@joeym9169 it's not their money to begin with... They're in debt for the rest of their lives to experience something stupid.
@@mich6425 You say going to the edge of space is stupid ?
I'll wait till Musk sells tickets for less than 10K USD.
SiaarZH won’t be long
It will be by 2025
Yup... Im tryna hit up Mars
$1000 a minute ? Still beyond "democratized" space and a waste of money imo. $1000 total and you're getting closer.
I'd feel safer with them anyway. I think they have the most solid record now of unexploded launches lol
To those talking about how expensive this activity is, 250k per trip opens up space to a huge amount of people. People currently pay millions to go to space with the Soyuz. When a transportation / experiential industry begins, it often caters to the wealthy first before it can reach a capacity where people from the middle class can enjoy its offerings.
Rocket Inn: Cutest couple in New Mexico
'Gayest'
Im a truck driver. I have made a couple different deliveries there. The first time being there was very impressive. I hope for the locals sake, it does follow through. It is a quite impressive facility.
As an aerospace student at NMSU, I am hoping to find a part in this. The fact that there's a port being built in my family's home state is already enough of a reason for me to want to latch on.
Quality content here
This should be on the main Verge channel
Imagine selling your house to buy a couple minutes to look at some far away desert and flop around a little in a cramped metal tube.
Humans truly are a unique species.
That image described at the end was BEAUTIFUL
this was a really thoughtful piece. Nice job, guys
Aww, I feel bad for the town of T or C... if I’m ever going to do the space flight I’m going to stay at the Rocket Inn 🙂🚀
High school level of journalism.
No they went to journalism school to learn something
Beautiful episode
Well I still don't know about going to space, but this video really made me want to visit T or C, stay at the Rocket Inn and visit the Brewery.
Wow you guys, this was incredible. Such great storytelling! Everyone at the Verge team should be massively proud of the incredible work you all are doing with your journalism and with your discovery. Thank you for continuing to produce such quality videos!
10:38 CUTIE!! If I ever pass thru that hellhole of a town I’ll go say hi 👋🏻.
media: brad pitt made it to space everyone
everyone:
The video that 3dr shot here was amazing. RIP 3dr. Long live skydio.
?
yeetus fetus ??
“We hope to be ready next year!”
2020 : lol nope 😏
This was brilliant. Great job all
Wow... I love the way she shows a different point of view... We don't always see the everyday folks' point of view...
It's been a great year of science. Next year will have even more discoveries and advancements.
Agreed.
I mean, you're weren't _wrong._ It's just we all wish that a lot of those discoveries hadn't needed to happen.
i dont think having a cappuccino before going on a flight where you wont be able to get up to pee is a good idea.
I wish It happen and working out for everyone in that town. Godspeed.
Me as somali watching this because somalia and turkey have a new project. Turkey is building a spaceport in somalia. Since somalia is located in avery strategic location. I'm here curious about spaceports and am happy about the progress and the military cooperation between turkey and my country somalia. Believe it or not, since 30 years we the somali people are now have hope and we will rise again.
I’ll crack open my wallet when I can walk on the moon.
Wow 😳 a couple minutes in a fast, high airplane that lands where you took off.
At least land wherever the client wants to go.
Just wait a few years and the same $250k can get you a week in orbit smh
That's exactly where this eventually goes.
they can't, the spacecraft can't go fast enough to leave new mexico
Why though? The space ship has to return to the hangar anyways and it’s not like any other nearby facilities are cleared to land space ships.
The spaceship doesn’t even have any room for luggage so what’s the point?
I like the way the road is made pitch perfect.
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, is worth visiting and staying at just because it is a neat place. It is a good place to stay a couple days when on a road or motorcycle trip. From there, you could visit Elephant Butte Lake State Park or drive up in the mountains.
Things take time and this is a big deal - who would have thought it would take 16 years. But 11th July 2021 it may just all come to life! Holding thumbs for TnC!
Just like the early days of air travel... space travel will start it's early days as a luxury and an occasion. Eventually, it will become routine to go into outer space even when it's only transient to get to another place on earth
Anyone else who heard about "Truth and Consequences" from Doctor who
Syed Abdul Wasay No
I think it was a bold move, perhaps a little ahead of its time but we're seeing more and more money and development going into various companies in the space sector, that may be enough to really spark things off.
i watched the first ever comricol space flight there this morning it was thru virgan galactic so cool!!!
Let everybody have a chance to experience it..250K 😂
@@brahim9709 shutup
@@gabrielonibudo5710 no u shut up
“Let everybody....” who has a cool quarter of a million...
This was a really good video, hooked all the way through. Wish the best to Truth and Consequences NM with VirginGalactic.
This reminded me of OuterWorlds so much!
Now I can really be a space ninja
First time I heard of this town was in Doctor Who.
betchya that got them more people coming to their town than this port ever will.
Same here!!!!
I heard about this town because they had a serial killer there that locked women in his trailer and tortured them in the 90s.
Same
Shauday Smith yeah because the spaceport is considered to be miles away in Las Cruces, trust me, this doc has it all wrong, our city and county has paid tons, TorC is a small meth infested town with nothing to do with playing money ball like this. The best thing in TorC is the McDonald’s on the way to Albuquerque. Shoulda came and talked to the actual taxpayers who covered this facility...like Vice did.
December 2019: "Sometime next year the first of 600 prepaid ticket holders will arrive"
March 2020: Hold my beer
That dual fuselage aircraft sure looks sketchy.. Let me know if its safe Justin and Brad. Thanks great video. I can understand the frustration of that town good luck.
Meanwhile Space X is sending humans into space in a few months and they are doing it all out of with their own pocket with zero casualties.
"at the end of the day, we really don't care." this sentiment is the real truth for what the port means for the town. I really don't think Truth and Consequence is gonna see much new influx when the port opens or in the immediate future after opening. I just don't see that kind of class mixing between the extremely wealthy and blue collar folk from some podunk town. But maybe... maybe they might encourage secondary investment into the neighboring town for port workers, more travelers passing through to watch the rockets go up. But meh...
Technically they will have an influx of people IF the Spaceport works. Not just the tourists and customers, but the industries which will support the spaceships will bring in investment and people. It's also possible that other Space Companies will hop in because of the ready made infrastructure. But all this is depended on that big IF.
@@nikunjsingh9169 good point. It's also a long view kind of optimism. Which is a tough concept for most communities to keep in mind when looking at any new large endeavor. Which is why that brewer in the video doesn't care about the spaceport, i think. He knows that it will still be a long time when that town sees any effect, if at all, from it.
THERE ARE NO ROCKETS !
THIS IS UPPER ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT BY AIRPLANE, WHICH CARRIES AND THEN RELEASES A SMALL , SCRAM JET POWERED VEHICLE , THAT IS FOLLOWED BY BOTH AIRCRAFT RETURNING TO THE BASE THEY TOOK OFF FROM .
BASICALLY A SMALL VERSION OF THE SHUTTLE, MINUS LAUNCH PAD AND BOOSYER ROCKETS , = BORING !!!!
@@brianharrigan8821 I doubt anybody cares. To most space is basically where you stop seeing the blue atmosphere and are able to see the black space. It's all technicalities.
Rocket and boosters are required to help the shuttle leave the grasp of earth's gravity and the push towards its destination. Here we are not trying to leave the earth's gravity. So having rockets and boosters are just a waste of time and money. And even now we don't exactly have a reusable rocket which can take frequent trips like say your next door train or cruise.
I live in El Paso, Texas and I pass through TorC often in my travels, I had no idea there was a spaceport close by.
Here after the successful launch for first human crews! Congratulations!!
Yeah
This is where the Zygons live
I wasn't going to say it but I'm glad you did
That's where I heard this town's name.
I didn’t think it was a real name
"democratize space, let everyone have a chance to experience it."
Me: ya sure, who doesn't have 250k$. Dirt cheap bruh
Swara arnav 250k is pretty cheap for space travel. A couple years back we’d be talking about a couple million.
Ex-f**king-actly.
Great video
Very good video
As a child I thought space travel would be all the thing and I would go into outer space.
Now I'm to old, to poor and to disabled to care.
I still love astronomy though.
@MostlyAmethyst ! Sixty Eight
ITS OK PAL , THERE ARE MANY THINGS ONE CAN DO WITH HIS LIFE , DON'T MAKE DREAMING THE #1 .....
4:41 Jesus, that's a bad sales pitch
Oh, no, I thought I was going to go a whole video without hearing iconic, but I forgot about this sect's other favorite, love saying it/hearing themselves say it, word, "bespoke." It took a whole 2.45 for it to be uttered.
Very good to include people who may or may not be affected by the capitalisation of space. Can you do another one on starlink :-)?
"Let everyone have a chance to experience it"
That's laughable, considering a few minute flight costs quarter million dollars...
They are taking about the future when it’s not stuff like this use to be billions in a few years to a decade it will most likely only cost a few thousand
I see the vision.
It means something to everyone in the future when kids are reading school books in schools on Mars colonies about the pioneers of space.
This.
Me roo 🙌
Fosters have done a brilliant job. It is just gorgeous.
No mention of Lompoc as an example of a town that tried space tourism and failed (when shuttle flights were going to go out of Vandenberg).
Wow too much awesomeness on this video!
Maybe when this industry gets enough money, we can have an actual space port, a port in space
my family came here to fl in the 50s some of which was for nasa. i myself can remeber when the area around the cape was about the same as T&C and in a near instant the place was hopping. its really just a matter of getting the firsts done and the crowd will definitely begin to arrive. but keep in mind as in the capes history its been boom and bust on and off so its about making smart longterm diverse investments in the local infrastructure so it can survive during the bust times.
9:40 The UP theme when the shuttle goes up
Reminds me of Radiator Springs😂😂
“Everyone was on board with this” Absolute BULLCRAP.
well i mean having a spaceport next to your town cant be a bad thing
@@askmeforadispenceronemoret3759 Sonic Booms
nicely done
Stunning design
Anyone else who loves Verge Science? I consider myself the most loyal fan and I have watched EVERY SINGLE VIDEO that they have uploaded.
"Normal people who just put a second mortgage on their house to take a flight" hahaha that ridiculous.
Even though I have been a follower of the space program since I was a child, I really only watched the video because Loren was in it. She's much more interesting than the spaceport, which could end up an expensive shed in the desert.
Great company great man Sir Richard
3:41 wtf does she mean high definition?!?! Did she expect the earth to be in like 480p?
144p
Never felt like anyone's politics were creeping into this. Just informative and interesting. Good job.
Space tourism will be a great milestone for opening up space to more people. It may not mean much to the average Joe and Jane right now but it will be one step closer to taking trips to moon and mars as we take holidays say to Fiji, Hawaii or gold coast. It is an extraordinary thing and there’s lot of challenges to overcome but when it happens it’ll be awesome. I actually envy the people in that town, they are living next door to future history. I hope there will be a space port like this next to my town in Australia one day. That would be Awesome :)
Interesting perspective, I enjoy seeing the view from nay sayers. Make your own future rather than waiting on others to make it for you. Good stuff
I live in t or c (truth or consequences) crack town lemme tell yuh, but people are really nice :)
"They might actually make a real lunch in 2020"
*covid entered the chat
This is a awesome idea. Cant wait to see the influx of people after they lower the price
It's weird having traveled to all these obscure parts of America and then seeing them in professionally made videos...
Earth was wearing her diamonds nice one
Meep meep!
Verge Science....
To give you a quote as to how much i would spend taking a space tour...I need your definition, description of what a space tour is and all that the a space tour involves.
I don't think Americans know how incredibly lucky they are, I mean where else is this reasonably possible. I want to work and create in this great country.