It is interesting to note in the past few days' correspondance that some
believe that poor old New Mexico is not capable of hosting a commercial
space launch business.  For many reasons, it can, and we here on the front
lines see no reason why it should not.  The 'spaceport political publicity'
referred to the other day had its intended effect - the state of New Mexico
did establish the start of the necessary government infrastructure to back a
commercial space port.  The commanding general at WSMR is in full support of
dual-use for the facilities.  The WSMR location also has some strategic
advantages in the form of necessary infrastructure and controlled air space
to support the project.  Just because the folks involved have not done the
traditional aerospace-equivalent of vapor-ware by inviting folks out to kick
non-existent tires but have been merely doing their job to prepare for
launch, don't think that nothing has happened.  From my interactions with
the MACDAC folks, I get the impression that they want to set a firm,
believable launch date based on vehicle readiness and not just some fiction
to plug a space on a calendar.  I believe that all will happen this summer
and don't worry, the locals here are planning to let everyone know when it
does occur.
Stephen Horan
shoran@nmsu.edu
