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Director Of New Mexico Spaceport Ready For Next Phase

The new chief executive of Spaceport America says New Mexico couldn't be in a better position as the commercial space tourism and transport industry matures.

Daniel Hicks has had a week now to settle into his new job. He replaced Christine Anderson, who retired after guiding construction and the installation of key infrastructure at the taxpayer-financed spaceport.

Hicks said in an interview Monday that it's good timing to have Spaceport America ready for service as the industry makes progress on developing reusable rockets and transport systems, including Virgin Galactic's efforts toward commercial flights.

Virgin Galactic is the spaceport's anchor tenant. Hicks will be visiting the company's testing facility in California next month.

Virgin announced earlier this month that it's planning for the first glide tests of its latest spaceship.

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