The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the state is close to a final lease agreement with Virgin Galactic for the spaceport, although state officials wouldn’t set a timetable for the completion of the agreement. That agreement was one of three conditions that officials in Doña Ana County set on the upcoming local tax referendum. Earlier this week state officials sought to reassure votes that the spaceport cost would not exceed $225 million, another condition on the deal. (The third is obtaining an FAA spaceport license, which is in progress.) The article also notes that the next launch from the spaceport by UP Aerospace, whose inaugural launch in September ended in failure, will now take place no earlier than April.
In the state capital, Santa Fe, legislators in the state House approved a number of bills, including one that that provides $25 million for spaceport roads. The Senate, which was temporarily boycotting the special session of the legislature in a tiff with the governor, is expected to reconvene by Saturday and take up the bills.
[…] In other news, the Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the state and Virgin Galactic have scheduled an announcement later today, which many people assume to be that they have reached a deal on a lease agreement for the spaceport. Last week the newspaper reported that negotiations on a lease agreement were nearing completion. […]