Astro Watch : In a joint release Wednesday, the Midland International Airport in Texas, Midland Development Corporation, XCOR Aerospace and Orbital Outfitters announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval of a Commercial Space Launch Site License (Spaceport) for the Midland International Airport (MAF). Midland International Airport is the first primary commercial service airport to be certified by the FAA under the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 420 as a spaceport and will furthermore be referred to as the Midland International Air & Space Port. “It’s an important day for not only Midland, but the nation, as we see the private space sector becoming a vital part of our future economy,” said the Midland Development Corporation Board Chairman Robert Rendall. “The spaceport is co-located with our commercial airport which will allow Midland to attract additional aerospace companies to the community,” he said. As a region with a strong history in oil and gas productions, the pre-existing workforce skills are easily transferable to aerospace, aviation and their supporting industries.XCOR President Andrew Nelson commented that, “For over a century Midlanders have been challenging frontiers and conquering world-changing innovations: the original Midland wildcatters to the now high-tech horizontal drillers; Jim Hall who revolutionized the automobile industry with ...