Tours of the world’s first space port, which is situated in the state of New Mexico, are to begin this week, it has been confirmed.

Spaceport America will open its doors to the public for three-hour tours from May 13, giving visitors an insight into the space flight facility.

The port is currently set to be the launch pad for Virgin Galactic as of 2013, when Richard Branson’s attempt to take tourists into space is expected to blast off.

Spaceport America said that the tour would include a look at the site in its current pre-operational phase, as well as a history of transportation in the region, spanning the Spanish pioneers to the space explorers of the future.

Conducted by a local tour company based in nearby Albuquerque, the tours will also feature some of the spectacular scenery of New Mexico’s rugged Old West, where the space port is located.

Although the tours won’t be cheap, at $59 a pop for adults at $29 for children, they are likely to prove popular with fans of the commercial space program, which appears to have little problem convincing tourists of its own value — some 400 people are said to have signed up for the $200,000 flight experience.

Earlier this month, Virgin Galactic announced the successful first flight testing the “feathering” system on board its spacecraft, designed to allow the spaceship to reenter Earth’s dense atmosphere almost vertically while keeping its stability.

Data from the flight is now being analysed before further tests, which are set to continue throughout 2011.

Source: AFPrelaxnews