New Mexico's Spaceport America looks up and into the future

A white airplane flies over a long runway in a desert in this aerial view.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world — but its executive director has a portfolio of ideas to further grow the launch complex.

Already home to an array of commercial space industry tenants, such as Virgin Galactic, SpinLaunch, Up Aerospace, and Prismatic, Spaceport America is a "rocket-friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot by 200-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity," the organization boasts on its website.