/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11410382
>who the fuck thought that was a good idea, it's not even on a coast

New Mexico may not be useful for orbital launches, but due to the abundance of empty space, it’s the place to be for suborbital and sounding rocket launches (which is what Spaceport America is really geared towards). Not only is Spaceport America home to VG, it also hosts other smaller commercial space ventures such as EXOS Aerospace and regularly holds large sounding rocket competitions like the Spaceport America Cup (the world’s largest student rocketry competition). Furthermore, just because things don’t launch to orbit from NM, doesn’t mean they don’t return from orbit to NM: White Sands is Starliner’s preferred landing zone and was once used for landing a Space Shuttle.