Spaceport America: Foster, URS's Final Frontier
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Spaceport America
Foster + Partners and URS are designing the world’s first tourist spaceport, Spaceport America, in Upham, New Mexico. The project is being developed by Virgin Galactic, which will operate spaceflights, and the New Mexico Space Authority.
Image: Courtesy URS/Foster + Partners
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Spaceport America
The 100,000-square-foot structure features a hangar for two mother ships—known as the White Knights—and five spacecraft, as well as passenger lounges and mission control.
Image: Courtesy URS/Foster + Partners
![Spaceport America](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-IV/Spaceport-America-03.jpg?t=1459798691&width=1080)
Spaceport America
A walkway suspended 15 feet from the ceiling bisects the building and enables visitors to watch as Virgin Galactic employees work below.
Image: Courtesy URS/Foster + Partners
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Spaceport America
The Spaceport is supported by three concrete vaults that wrap around each of its main spaces, and a poured-concrete foundation mounted into the ground. Its overall shape, which resembles a manta ray, matches the earth’s contours but is also designed to be viewed from above.
Image: Courtesy URS/Foster + Partners
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Spaceport America
A "space hotel," developed by the Barcelona-based firm Galactic Suite Project, could be ready to receive its first guests in 2012. It will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 300 miles.
Image: Courtesy Galactic Suite Project
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Spaceport America
The hotel's three guest rooms measure 22-by-13 feet apiece.
Image: Courtesy Galactic Suite Project
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Spaceport America
The space hotel’s modular design is “based on the natural growth of a grapevine,” says Xavier Claramunt, director of the Galactic Suite Project.
Image: Courtesy Galactic Suite Project
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Spaceport America
The space hotel will be launched from the project's training facility and tourist resort in the Caribbean, which will also be the departure point for guests. Tickets are expected to cost $4 million.
Image: Courtesy Galactic Suite Project