This first commercial spaceport in the world was built for Virgin Galactic, one of whose activities is space tourism. Airplanes specially designed for it can climb into the upper layers of the atmosphere, where conditions of weightlessness exist and a view of the Earth's surface opens up, comparable to a panorama from a space station or a rocket. Richard Branson, founder of the company, noted at the opening of the spaceport that it provides "safe … access to space."
The building, built by Foster, on an area of 10 thousand m2 includes a hangar for 7 such aircraft (models WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo), a terminal for tourists, MCC and various technical and utility rooms.
Its organic form demonstrates a departure from the familiar image of the future. On the contrary, the building is primarily inscribed in the natural environment, and the main goal of the architect was to keep the environment intact.
Therefore, Spaceport America will be as environmentally friendly as possible, and therefore will be able to qualify for the LEED Gold Energy Efficiency Certificate. Among the "green" elements - the widespread use of natural ventilation and lighting, as well as the use of thermal mass to maintain a constant temperature inside in a harsh desert climate - for this, the building was partially submerged in the ground. You can get to the spaceport through a long underground corridor, on the walls of which there is an exhibition about the stages of man's conquest of space and about the history of the region.
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