Director: New Mexico Spaceport for Next Frontier

At what was once a remote desert outpost with spotty cell service and little infrastructure other than the shell of a quarter-billion-dollar futuristic hangar, Christine Anderson has watched the transformation of Spaceport America from her office window.

The hangar sits just to the south, its patina metal paneling and glass walls rising from the valley floor.

It’s Anderson’s favorite view.

“I always get inspired,” she said of being at the spaceport. “It sounds so trite, ‘the dawn of the new space age,’ but you know it really is. I think it’s just going to be amazing what we in our lifetime get to see happening in this industry.”

Even though commercial flights at Spaceport America have yet to begin, Anderson - executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority - says her job is done as the spaceport stands ready for anchor tenant Virgin Galactic and other companies working in the industry.

Anderson announced her resignation this summer. Her last day is next week, and the search is underway for her successor.

Anderson told The Associated Press the decision to leave was difficult but noted she initially signed up for only a year. She has served in the position now for more than five years.

“I figured, ‘This sounds fun. Let’s see if I can help out for a year as part of the transition process,’” she said. “Of course, I got so involved and so excited about the job and the commercial space industry that one year led to the next and the next and the next.”

It hasn’t been easy. There were numerous contracts to manage during a rocky construction period. Then there were delays and other setbacks as Virgin Galactic worked to develop and test its spacecraft.