space travel has taken root. spaceport america. it is still in its infancy, growing with each steel beam, each pounding of the dry dirt. funded by taxpayers and private industry, this $200 million facility will be the world s first commercial space port. i pinch myself sometimes and say what how often does one have the opportunity to be part of a project that is so historic? this is the birth of the new commercial space age. the vision, private companies will launch cargo of humans from here, perhaps to orbiting hotels. that first vacation in space you take might start right here. if you re going to have commercial operations taking tourists into space, you know, safety has to be your guiding star all the time. reporter: sir richard branson s company has taken the lead. a year or so from now, a mother ship will roll down this runway,
reporter: southeast of the elephant butte dam tucked away in the middle of the new mexico desert, right, there you see it rising up from the scrubbrush? this is where the future of space travel has taken root. spaceport america. it is still in its infancy growing with each steel beam, each pounding of the dry dirt. funded by taxpayers and private industry, this $200 million fast is will be the world s first commercial spaceport. i pinch myself sometimes and say, what how often does one have the opportunity to be part of a project that is so historic? this is the birth of the new commercial space-age. reporter: the vision private companies will launch cargo and humans from here, perhaps to orbiting hotels. that first vacation in space you take might start right here. if you re going have