The lagging development, along with competition from heavy hitters like Florida and Texas, is raising new questions about the viability of the $218 billion taxpayer-funded project — as well as the rush by so many states to grab a piece of the commercial spaceport pie.

"Right now, the industry is not there to support it," Alex Ignatiev, a University of Houston physics professor and adviser to space companies, said of the list of planned and proposed spaceports across America.

One of the poorest states in the nation has invested nearly a quarter of a billion dollars and 10 years in creating a hub for Richard Branson’s space tourism company, Virgin Galactic. Some see it as the crown jewel of a new space age while others call it a carnival for the 1 percent — but with persistent delays and mounting financial strain, Spaceport America is just trying to avoid becoming New Mexico’s costliest, most futuristic ghost town

After convincing New Mexico to spend $218 Million Dollars to build a Spaceport for his Virgin Galactic Space Tourist venture, Richard Branson could not find a way to build his new factoires there and decided to build open them in California! In fact, despite its futuristic spaceport, New Mexico has been unable to convert their spaceport into space factory jobs.

"I don’t know who the potential buyers would be, but whatever proceeds we receive could be used to paying down the debt New Mexico committed to when we built the place," said State Senator George Muñoz, the sponsor of a bill to put the commercial spaceport up for sale. "There was a lot of hoopla before that if 'We build it, they will come,' but it’s been several years now and nobody’s shown up yet. New Mexican taxpayers are continuing to foot the bill for a $250 million empty facility."

“Overall, I think the general public feels let down from the promises made,” said Jia Apple, one of the owners of Passion Pie Cafe in Truth or Consequences. She said that although she likes that some of the tax increase has gone to education, “I think probably there was a lot of false promises made. I don’t know if we know the overall outcome yet. But the general feeling is letdown.”

Five years from now, this hunk of remote ground will be the place for shuttling tourists to suborbital space, launching small satellites, and serving as a hub for all things new space. Or so the tenants of Spaceport America and the New Mexico state government hope. But right now, the easiest thing to notice about Spaceport America is that it's empty. There's a full-scale model of SpaceShipTwo in an otherwise empty hangar and a garage full of firetrucks for emergencies that aren't happening yet

Spaceport America Needs $2,000,000 from New Mexico this year to make ends in 2016.  New Mexico does not have the money . . .

TUCSON, ARIZONA – An Arizona county has beat out Spaceport America in vying to host operations for a balloon spaceflight company. A $15 million incentives package to bring World View Enterprises to southern Arizona along with 400 jobs for the Tucson area. The incentives awarded Tuesday include building a 120,000-square-foot headquarters facility the company will lease, along with a spaceport and manufacturing space.