Let Me Dance Among the Stars: British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will place its headquarters and mission control center in New Mexico, per an agreement announced Tuesday. The company plans to build a $200 million spaceport on 27 acres of state land in the southern portion of New Mexico, from which it will send paying tourists into space. According to news service reports, the company expects to make the first flight by early 2009.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.