Aug. 2—Virgin Galactic is planning a new astronaut campus and training facility in southern New Mexico where its high-dollar customers will prepare for their rides into suborbit, the company announced Tuesday morning.

The firm has already acquired land in Sierra County for the facility, described as a "first of its kind astronaut campus, for exclusive use by Virgin Galactic Future Astronauts and up to three of their guests in advance of a spaceflight from Spaceport America." Customers who buy tickets to space aboard Virgin's passenger rocket — which were selling at $450,000 per seat earlier this year — will stay and train at the campus for five nights.

"At Virgin Galactic, the road to space begins in New Mexico, and we are proud to showcase the state as the launch point for our unique and unparalleled experience," said Blair Rich, Virgin Galactic president and chief business officer, commercial and consumer operations, in a prepared statement. "From the point of sale, our Future Astronauts begin a journey that is curated, high-touch and distinctly Virgin, which will culminate at the astronaut campus and training facility."

The campus will be built on top of a mesa not far from the spaceport, the company wrote in a release. No timeline for the project has been released, although Virgin Galactic said "conceptual design" of the project is underway.

"With a focus on sustainability and minimal impact to the surrounding environment, the purpose-driven design of the project will embrace water conservation and re-use, eco-friendly materials, and low carbon mobility as key considerations in the development of the site," the release said.

"I'm thrilled to welcome the next chapter of Virgin Galactic's continued investment in New Mexico," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "The new astronaut campus in Sierra County will spur further economic activity for New Mexico, creating more local jobs and attracting new visitors and spending to the area. New Mexico is proud to be home to the future of aerospace innovation and space tourism."

The announcement comes as Virgin Galactic ramps up preparations for its full-scale commercial launch.

Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson grabbed headlines last year by flying to suborbit aboard the company's passenger rocket along with a crew. But since then, the company has been retooling and upgrading its airships. And, plagued by supply-chain and workforce problems, the company has pushed out the start date for its regular space tourism flights. In May, company leaders announced they would not begin passenger service until winter 2023.

Last month, Virgin Galactic announced a deal with Boeing to build two additional carrier aircraft, as well as a long-term lease in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa for a spaceship manufacturing facility.

Virgin uses a horizontal launch technology, where a passenger rocket is carried up to about 50,000 feet on the underbelly of a carrier "mothership." The rocket then breaks away and fires up its motors to shoot into suborbit. Once there, passengers on the rocket spend a few minutes floating in microgravity and taking in views of the Earth and its curvature before gliding back to the ground.

The company is expected to present its next quarterly earnings statement to shareholders and members of the public on Thursday. Leaders reported a net loss of $93 million in the first quarter of 2022.

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