Upham, New Mexico

Upham
Unincorporated community
Upham is located in New Mexico
Upham
Upham
Coordinates: 32°53′11″N 107°00′08″W / 32.88639°N 107.00222°W / 32.88639; -107.00222
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountySierra
Elevation
[1]
4,561 ft (1,390 m)
GNIS feature ID899972[1]

Upham (/ˈjuːˌfəm/ YOO-fum[2]) is an inhabited, unincorporated community and place in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. It has gained recognition for being near the site for the Spaceport America facility being developed by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.[3] This will be Virgin Galactic's world headquarters and mission control location.[4]

Upham is located approximately 30 miles east of Truth or Consequences, and 45 miles north of Las Cruces, in the southern part of the state[5] 4,557 feet (1,389 meters) above sea level. Virgin Galactic is the first space tourism company to develop commercial flights into space.

Sub-orbital commercial space launches began in 2007.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Upham, New Mexico
  2. ^ The Place Names of New Mexico. p. 366.
  3. ^ "Spaceport America Breaks Ground In New Mexico". New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Retrieved May 20, 2011. UPHAM, NM – With New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Spaceport America officials and supporters of commercial space development in attendance, the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport broke ground today in southern New Mexico.
  4. ^ "News – SPACEPORT AMERICA RUNWAY DEDICATION". Virgin Galactic. October 10, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2011. UPHAM, NM – The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) today dedicated the nearly two-mile long "Governor Bill Richardson Spaceway" at Spaceport America, representing significant progress toward launching commercial customers into space from the desert of New Mexico.
  5. ^ SPACE.com - New Mexico: Building A Better Spaceport
  6. ^ "Private Firm Launches Test Shot From Spaceport America". space.com. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
  7. ^ "Lockheed Martin signs agreement with NM Spaceport". New Mexico Business Weekly. April 15, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.