LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) Virgin Galactic has again pushed back its estimated start date for launching commercial flights from New Mexico's Spaceport America. And spaceport officials say they'll need to ask the state for more money to make up for lost user fees from the company.
New Mexico Spaceport Authority Chairman Rick Holdridge told the Las Cruces Sun-News (http://bit.ly/1dOSwJ5 ) following a board meeting Tuesday that the expected start of tourism space flights has been pushed back from February to August 2014, a delay he says will be expensive.
Spaceport officials say they'll have to ask the state in January for $7 million to finish paving a road between the Spaceport and Las Cruces.
Virgin Galactic began paying its $1 million a year rent on the facility in January.