Perception is everything, and this does not make Richardson look good.
re: Richardson said he wants New Mexico to commit $100 million to start building the spaceportin 2007.)))
eek. Why does this have to be a state-funded venture?
Just out of curiosity, how much fuel does that Citation burn?
Hey ya gotta spend money to make money...
One of my pet peeves is when folks complain about air force one (slightly off topic). We own the plane, we pay the crew, the crew must fly, who cares what the president uses it for?
In addition, it is a communications node - Bush with AF one in tow is much better than Bush without.
Well, the article claims that Branson's company paid for the fuel and a state board covered the rest of the cost through private donations. If this is true (who is it that is donating $4500 to fly a billionaire around in a private jet?) then it's a wash for the taxpayers, and it's better for the airplane to be used than to sit.
What I don't understand is why Branson didn't just charter a jet. It's not like he or his company can't afford it. This way just made the NM government look silly because (at least as per this thread) some people won't read the article carefully and think the state is paying to fly Branson around.
I think that the most viable future to space exploration is private enterprise which seems to be Branson's aim; that being said, why does the state feel the need to spend $100 million on a space port (and state estimates usually wind WAY LOW), if Branson feels he can make use of a space port he should fund it himself.