ACEIZE Tracking the current state of Science and Technology

URS Corp. won the design competition for Spaceport America in New Mexico's Mojave desert. Their design "is a low-lying, striking bit of construction that uses natural earth as a berm, and relies on passive energy for heating and cooling, with photovoltaic panels for electricity and water recycling capabilities. A rolling concrete shell acts as a roof with massive windows opening to a view of the runway and spacecraft."

When the Spaceport is completed it will be a roughly 100,000-square-foot (9,290-square-meter) facility. The picture presents a deceptively small view of the facility, because most of the construction will be underground. The construction will cost approximately $31 million US dollars.

Virgin Galactic will use the newly built spaceport as their base of operations. Currently they plan to rent 84,000 square feet (7,803 square meters) in the building on a 20 year lease. For the math challenged, that's 84% of the facility.