Virgin Galactic's first space tourists finally soar, an Olympian and a mother-daughter duo - By Susan Montoya Bryan And Marcia Dunn Associated Press
Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.
The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.
This first private customer flight had been delayed for years; its success means Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic can now start offering monthly rides, joining Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX in the space tourism business.
"That was by far the most awesome thing I've ever done in my life," said Jon Goodwin, who competed in canoeing in the 1972 Olympics.
Goodwin, 80, was among the first to buy a Virgin Galactic ticket in 2005 and feared, after later being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, that he'd be out of luck. Since then he's climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and cycled back down, and said he hopes his spaceflight shows others with Parkinson's and other illnesses that "it doesn't stop you doing things."
Ticket prices were $200,000 when Goodwin signed up. The cost is now $450,000.
He was joined on the flight by sweepstakes winner Keisha Schahaff, 46, a health coach from Antigua, and her daughter, Anastatia Mayers, 18, a student at Scotland's University of Aberdeen. They high-fived and pumped their fists as the spaceport crowd cheered their return.
"A childhood dream has come true," said Schahaff, who took pink Antiguan sand up with her. Added her daughter: "I have no words. The only thought I had the whole time was 'Wow!' "
With the company's astronaut trainer and one of the two pilots, it marked the first time women outnumbered men on a spaceflight, four to two.
Cheers erupted from families and friends watching below when the craft's rocket motor fired after it was released from the twin-fuselage aircraft that had carried it aloft. The rocket ship's portion of the flight lasted about 15 minutes and it reached 55 miles (88 kilometers) high.
It was Virgin Galactic's seventh trip to space since 2018, but the first with a ticket-holder. Branson, the company's founder, hopped on board for the first full-size crew ride in 2021. Italian military and government researchers soared in June on the first commercial flight. About 800 people are currently on Virgin Galactic's waiting list, according to the company.
In contrast to Virgin Galactic's plane-launched rocket ship, the capsules used by SpaceX and Blue Origin are fully automated and parachute back down.
Like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin aims for the fringes of space, quick ups-and-downs from West Texas. Blue Origin has launched 31 people so far, but flights are on hold following a rocket crash last fall. The capsule, carrying experiments but no passengers, landed intact.
SpaceX, is the only private company flying customers all the way to orbit, charging a much heftier price, too: tens of millions of dollars per seat. It's already flown three private crews. NASA is its biggest customer, relying on SpaceX to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station. since 2020.
People have been taking on adventure travel for decades, the risks underscored by the recent implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five passengers on their way down to view the Titanic wreckage. Virgin Galactic suffered its own casualty in 2014 when its rocket plane broke apart during a test flight, killing one pilot. Yet space tourists are still lining up, ever since the first one rocketed into orbit in 2001 with the Russians.
Branson, who lives in the British Virgin Islands, watched Thursday's flight from a party in Antigua. He was joined by the country's prime minister, as well as Schahaff's mother and other relatives.
"Welcome to the club," he told the new spacefliers via X, formerly Twitter.
Several months ago, Branson held a virtual lottery to establish a pecking order for the company's first 50 customers — dubbed the Founding Astronauts. Virgin Galactic said the group agreed Goodwin would go first, given his age and his Parkinson's.
Largest solar factory in the U.S. set to open in Albuquerque - Alice Fordham, KUNM news
The largest solar factory in the U.S. is slated to open in Albuquerque, creating up to 1,800 manufacturing jobs at the new site in the Mesa del Sol area.
The Singaporean company Maxeon made the announcement Thursday, saying that total investment in the project is expected to be over $1 billion.
The company is in the process of finalizing financing from the U.S. Department of Energy under a clean energy financing program that has been in place since 2005, but which was expanded by legislation under the Biden administration.
The company CEO Bill Mulligan credited the Biden administration's support for the viability of the new project, saying that the U.S. is now poised to re-shore and scale up a domestic solar supply chain.
In an earnings call Thursday Maxeon executives also said the state of New Mexico's support had helped them decide to build the plant in Albuquerque.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that the private investment shows that state programs, along with the federal Inflation Reduction Act, have charted a path for the state to grow the clean energy economy.
President Joe Biden earlier this week attended a groundbreaking of a factory in Belen set to produce wind towers, crediting his administration's support of renewable energy with increased demand for infrastructure like wind towers.
A Maxeon press release said that the new plant would be about twice the size of the largest silicon solar manufacturing facility currently operating in the U.S.
Construction is expected to begin next year.
Movie weapons supervisor pleads not guilty to manslaughter in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
The woman who oversaw the use of weapons on the movie set where Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, New Mexico court officials said.
Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed waived her right to an arraignment on the charges in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie "Rust," officials said Wednesday.
A state district judge tentatively scheduled a trial for December.
A defense attorney for Gutierrez-Reed has characterized it a tragic accident and says the weapons specialist committed no crime. Prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Reed was negligent in the handling of firearms and ammunition on the set.
"Rust" safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls has pleaded no contest to a charge of unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months' probation.
In April, prosecutors dropped charges against Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.
Biden wants to compensate New Mexico residents sickened by radiation during 1945 nuclear testing - Associated Press
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he's open to granting assistance for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing, including in New Mexico, where the world's first atomic bomb was tested in 1945.
Biden brought up the issue while speaking Wednesday in Belen at a factory that produces wind towers.
"I'm prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of," he said.
The state's place in American history as a testing ground has gotten more attention recently with the release of "Oppenheimer," a movie about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the top-secret Manhattan Project.
Biden watched the film last week while on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico spoke of how the first bomb was tested on soil just south of where the event was. The senator also discussed getting an amendment into the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which gives payments to people who become ill from nuclear weapons tests or uranium mining during the Cold War.
"And those families did not get the help that they deserved. They were left out of the original legislation," Lujan added. "We're fighting with everything that we have" to keep the amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act.
Last month, the U.S. Senate voted to expand compensation. The provisions would extend health care coverage and compensation to so-called downwinders exposed to radiation during weapons testing to several new regions stretching from New Mexico to Guam.
Biden said he told Lujan that he's "prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of."
Albuquerque plans to restore neon signs ahead of Route 66 centennial — Alice Fordham, KUNM
Albuquerque is planning to restore historic neon signs along its 18 miles of Route 66 ahead of the historic highway's centennial in 2026.
The City of Albuquerque and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency have collaborated on a new Sign Improvement Program.
It will grant funds to property owners who are able to restore the iconic neon signs that have lit up the road for decades, but which have often fallen into disrepair.
A total of $432,000 has been set aside for the project, and work that can be completed in the next two years will be prioritized.
Property owners can choose to repair an existing sign to preserve its historic character, or work with an artist to re-create signs as new works of art.
The city recommends property owners look to the nonprofit Friends of the Orphan Signs for inspiration. That group works with communities to restore abandoned signs and relics of past roadside culture around Albuquerque.
Founder Ellen Babcock said she was fascinated by the abandoned signs and, "by the way that their emptiness transcended the banality of surrounding advertising along Route 66.”
More details of the grants are available on the City of Albuquerque's website.
NM tourism secretary takes the helm at Aging and Long-term Services — Nash Jones, KUNM News
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a change in her cabinet Tuesday. Tourism Secretary Jen Paul Schroer will now lead the Aging and Long-term Services Department following the recent retirement of Sec. Katrina Hotrum-Lopez.
While the shift from managing tourism to overseeing elder care may seem like a drastic change, the governor referred to Schroer in the announcement as “an emerging health care leader.”
Leading Aging and Long-term Services won’t be the first time the secretary has worked on healthcare-related projects. While at the helm of the Tourism Department, Schroer was tasked with spearheading the state’s approach to pandemic communication and rolling out COVID vaccines. The governor also credits her with developing the Department of Health’s equity and inclusion strategy.
Schroer said in a statement that she sees, “great opportunity in improving how the state assists older adults and their caregivers in maintaining independence, living safely and autonomously.”
Development Director Lancing Adams will step in as the acting Tourism Secretary.
Bernalillo County recruits officials for November local election — Nash Jones, KUNM News
Bernalillo County is looking for eligible residents to serve as election officials this November.
Most municipalities in New Mexico have opted into the Regular Local Election, which are held on odd-numbered years. This year’s will be held on November 7.
Bernalillo County election officials must be registered to vote in the county, cannot be a candidate on the ballot or related to one, and can’t work for law enforcement.
They will get paid anywhere from $300 to $400 on Election Day, depending on their role, and can earn $13.50 to $16 an hour during the early voting period, according to the county’s Bureau of Elections.
County Clerk Linda Stover wrote in a statement that voters stepping up to work the polls also “ensures the integrity and efficiency of our elections.”
Those who are interested can apply on the clerk’s website or by calling 505-243-VOTE.
VP Kamala Harris unveils new wage rule for federal projects — Source New Mexico, KUNM News
Construction workers for federal projects are poised to receive better wages and worker protections under a Department of Labor rule touted by Vice President Kamala Harris this week.
Casey Quinlan reports for Source New Mexico that Harris says the new rule would be the first update to the Davis-Bacon Act in more than 40 years, which requires paying prevailing wages on public works projects.
The final rule transforms how the hourly rate of wages paid to workers in a given area are calculated. It would base wages off of at least 30% of workers instead of 50% of workers in a trade in a certain locality, which the Biden administration said will help ensure prevailing wages aren’t dragged down by employers who pay poorly.
The regulation also makes it easier for the agency to withhold funds to ensure workers are paid properly and protects workers from employer retaliation, according to administration officials.
The rule will go into effect in about two months and would affect an estimated 1-point-2 million workers.
Virgin Galactic scheduled to take first paying passengers into space — KUNM News
Virgin Galactic could send its first paying passengers into space today, the Albuquerque Journal reports, when a flight is scheduled from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico.
In late June, the company flew members of the Italian Air Force and National Research Council into suborbit, but today's launch is set to be the first time private passengers will take the company's tourist flight into space.
It's something the company has promised for nearly 20 years, since Sir Richard Branson created Virgin Galactic in 2004.
CEO Michael Colglazier (COL-glayzher) said during an earnings conference call last week that this will mark a full launch of commercial service, including occasional research missions for
government entities and others.
Three passengers will fly on the flight including a mother and daughter from the Caribbean island nation of Antigua — who won seats through a public drawing that Virgin Galactic conducted in 2021 — and an 80-year-old former Olympian athlete and lifetime adventurer who now has Parkinson’s disease.
Three Virgin Galactic team members will fly as well.