SPACE.com has the news that Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic venture have announced the location of the new $25M spaceport for space tourism…

… off Exit 32 from Interstate 25. That’s where the Southwestern Regional Spaceport in Upham, New Mexico is to be built.

Upham is roughly 45 miles north of Las Cruces and 30 miles east of Truth or Consequences. The now barren stretch of land that will become the spaceport covers some 27 square miles, having a north-south configuration.

(Too bad for BransonBlog reader Robert Jacobson that they didn’t go with his Mojave suggestion. He did manage to deliver his presentation and hire-me pitch to Branson at the recent store opening in LA, though… Impressive!)

Branson also unveiled the new Virgin Galactic logo, which is based on a photo of Branson’s own eye. Very interesting. I love the logo, but I’m not sure it’s the best one for space tourism. Who knows… Time will tell. Glad to see things are moving forward on the Galactic front.