By RICHARD B. STOLLEY Monday, Dec. 14, 2009

Tickets at Spaceport America (architect's rendering) will start at $200,000.

The coyotes have loped off, and the rattlesnakes have crawled under the construction trailers for shade and safety. Bulldozers have scraped away the mesquite to make a board-flat rectangle 10,000 ft. by 200 ft. Workers have begun putting down layers of gravel, packed earth, asphalt and concrete 42 in. thick to form a runway. The age of space tourism is here.

This expanse of high desert 35 miles southwest of Truth or Consequences, N.M., is the site of Spaceport America, a collaborative effort between the state and Richard Branson's space enterprise, Virgin Galactic, that hopes to send private citizens into near orbit as early as 2011. New Mexico is spending $198 million on construction; Virgin Galactic will lease the place for 20 years at a price of $200 million to $250 million.(See pictures of billionaire Richard Branson.)

Not far from the runway, a hangar will be erected to house WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo, the tandem craft designed by aerospace engineer Burt Rutan. WhiteKnightTwo is being test-flown now; SpaceShipTwo makes its public debut in Mojave, Calif., on Dec. 7. Together, they will carry two pilots and six passengers to an altitude of 70 miles — the edge of space. Passengers will enjoy five minutes of eerie silence and weightlessness (floating somersaults are allowed) and 1,000-mile views in all directions before a half-hour glide back to earth. Tickets cost $200,000, and 300 people have already signed up.

Proponents hail this remote corner of New Mexico as an ideal location for a spaceport: the weather is dry and clear year round, and at 4,500 ft. above sea level, jokes Steve Landeene, the spaceport's executive director, "the first mile is free." Physicist Robert Goddard developed modern rocketry here in the 1930s; in 1947, a mysterious object crashed to earth outside Roswell, making the town synonymous with UFO conspiracy theories. Thanks to the restricted airspace over the neighboring White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base, there's also hardly any commercial air traffic.(Watch an interview with Branson.)

In 2005, Branson and Governor Bill Richardson signed a deal under which the legislature would put up $140 million if two of the three counties adjoining the spaceport also contributed. Dona Ana and Sierra counties agreed and so far have raised $58 million for the project. Voters in the third county narrowly rejected the idea last November.

Indeed, not all New Mexicans are enthralled by the spaceport. Having toured the state, Landeene sums up taxpayers' objections this way: "It's rich men into space. Why in heck are we paying for Richard Branson? It's his deal. Let him do it." Ranchers in the area have also complained that they've had to reduce the size of their herds and move cattle away from the construction, though compromises are slowly being worked out.

Supporters expect the project to mean great things for the Land of Enchantment. With site tours and a museum planned, organizers hope to welcome 1 million visitors annually. An independent study has forecast up to 5,000 new jobs and a $1 billion boost to the region's economy as Virgin Galactic and other aerospace companies move from tourism into commercial spaceflight like low-cost satellite launches.

Before New Mexico meets its future, however, it has to reckon with its past. Human habitation here dates back 12,000 years; in the 16th century the storied Camino Real — a 1,500-mile trade route from Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo, near Santa Fe — passed through the spaceport site. Because of this history, the Federal Government required a cultural-resources survey before construction could begin, as well as constant monitoring since. So on this balmy afternoon, archaeologist Elizabeth Oster is examining a spot she says is "right smack in the middle of the runway." If she unearths anything of scientific importance, the area will have to be excavated before construction can proceed. By the end of the day, Oster has found some stone chips, probably residue from a 5,000-year-old Paleo-Indian arrowhead. It's not enough to recommend a shutdown. The earthmovers roar to life again.

See pictures of Earth from space.

See the top 50 space moments since Sputnik.