Designers unveil Spaceport design

SPACEPORT IN SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S FINISHED. TODAY ARCHITECTS A...  More »

SPACEPORT IN SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S FINISHED. TODAY ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS UNVEILED THE PLANS. AND FROM THE LOOKS OF IT, THE WORLD'S FIRST SPACE TERMINAL - - WILL BE "OUT OF THIS WORLD." JEFF MAHER IS HERE WITH A FIRST LOOK. THE SPACE-PORT BETWEEN T OR C AND LAS CRUCES IS DESIGNED TO CONVEY THE THRILL OF SPACE TRAVEL. FROM THE INSIDE - TO THE OUTSIDE, IT'S CLEAR THAT ONCE THE PLACE IS FINISHED - IT'S GOING TO LOOK YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME. IT'S AN IMAGE OF THE FUTURE JUST A FEW YEARS FROM BECOMING REALITY. THESE DESIGN RENDERINGS WERE JUST RELEASED TODAY - AND SHOW WHAT THE SPACEPORT WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S COMPLETED. FROM ABOVE... SPACECRAFT WILL SEE THIS. AN ODD SHAPED BUILDING STICKING UP FROM THE GROUND. THE ENTRANCE LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING FROM ANOTHER PLANET. DESIGNERS ALSO SHOWED OFF THE INTERIOR OF THE SPACEPORT, THE TERMINAL - AND WHAT THE PLACE LOOKS LIKE FROM THE GROUND. THE TERMINAL AND HANGAR FACILITY ARE EXPECTED TO COST ABOUT THIRTY-ONE MILLION DOLLARS. SPACEPORT OFFICIALS SAY THE DESIGN FITS PERFECTLY WITH THE NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPE. MANY ARE CALLING IT A BREAKTHROUGH PROJECT. PERFECTLY WITH THE NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPE. MANY ARE CALLING IT A BREAKTHROUGH PROJECT. THE LOW-LYING DESIGN SERVES MORE THAN JUST A VISUAL PURPOSE. WITH THE SPACEPORT BEING LOW TO THE GROUND, IT WITH THE SPACEPORT BEING LOW TO THE GROUND, IT CONSERVES ENERGY FOR HEATING AND COOLING. THE ROOF WILL BE A ROLLING CONCRETE SHELL WITH MASSIVE WINDOWS TO SHOW OFF THE RUNWAY AND SPACECRAFT CONSTRUCTION OF THE SPACEPORT WILL START NEXT YEAR. IT'S EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED IN LATE 2009 OR EARLY 2010. BACK TO YOU. ALBUQUERQUE POLICE HAVE JUST  « Less