By 
March 14th, 2020
Training exercise in emergency response preparedness at New Mexico’s Spaceport America.
Credit: Spaceport America
New Mexico’s Spaceport America has held a training exercise in emergency response preparedness.
Spaceport America and the Louisiana State University National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education (LSU NCBRT/ACE) jointly held an emergency response preparedness training exercise at Spaceport America on March 10 -13, 2020 for the Spaceport America team and statewide first responders.
The goal of the training course, titled “A Prepared Jurisdiction: Integrated Response to a CBRNE Incident,” was to allow Spaceport America personnel and about 150 first responders throughout the state of New Mexico, the opportunity to cross train and understand the capabilities of each agency.
FYI: CBRNE stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive materials.
The long-term partnership between Spaceport America and LSU NCBRT/ACE is focused on developing and implementing programs that set the standards for safe space travel. These goals include reviewing safety protocols for commercial space agencies, coordinating emergency efforts of local and national law enforcement agencies, and developing the proper emergency preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery guidelines.
Credit: Spaceport America
New and unique aspects
According to a Spaceport America press statement, this general emergency preparedness event is not directly related to any tenant of Spaceport America, but did deal with some of the new and unique aspects of commercial spaceport operations.
“The safety of our team, customers and guests are priority one for Spaceport America,” said Dan Hicks, CEO of Spaceport America and Executive Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
White Knight carrier craft carries SpaceShipTwo aloft for high-altitude release. Commercial operations for the group are expected this year at Spaceport America.
Credit: Virgin Galactic
“We are confident that the engagement with LSU NCBRT/ACE will prepare Spaceport America as we enter the dawn of commercial human spaceflight,” Hicks states, “as well as help all participating first responders in improving their emergency preparedness activities.”
NCBRT/ACE Director, Jeff Mayne also explains in the statement: “As the possibilities of commercial spaceport operations become more and more tangible, we recognize that there is a vital need for high-quality, innovative emergency training to protect our nation’s citizens,” Mayne states. “We are proud of the relationship we have built with NMSA and Spaceport America, and we hope that this partnership can pave the way for safety and security in the realm of space travel.”
Purpose-built
Spaceport America is described as the first “purpose-built” commercial spaceport in the world.
Spaceport America’s “Spaceway” – a 12,000 ft x 200 ft concrete main runway.
Credit: Spaceport America
The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, has a rocket friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity.
Commercial space industry customers at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, Boeing, UP Aerospace, EXOS Aerospace, HyperSciences, and SpinLaunch.
Posted in Space News
