Desert town becomes gateway to space
MAY 07, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026026
New York Times : In the US, the hub of space travel may be shifting from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Mojave, California. At least half a dozen outer space start-ups are currently located at the Mojave Air and Space Port , about 90 miles north of Los Angeles, writes Kenneth Chang for the New York Times. Among them are Scaled Composites , Stratolaunch Systems , Masten Space Systems , Firestar Technologies , and XCOR Aerospace . Scaled Composites is constructing spacecraft for New Mexico–based Virgin Galactic , founded by billionaire Richard Branson. This week may witness a milestone event for the industry as another California space companyâmdash;Space Explorations Technologies, or SpaceX âmdash;gears up to launch the first commercial spaceship to take supplies to the International Space Station.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
