Welcome to Truth or Consequences

When leaders of the National Federation of the Blind visited Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, for the Blind Driver Challenge, we did not just sit on the bleachers as spectators. Truth or Consequences, also known as T or C, is a small resort town with a year-round population of slightly more than six thousand, and it got its name in 1950 as part of a publicity scheme to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Ralph Edwards’s hugely successful game show on NBC radio. It’s also home of Spaceport America, which is the location of the recent Blind Driver Challenge efforts.

Spaceport America has six thousand square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a twelve thousand-foot by two-hundred-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and the world’s first purpose-built space terminal, Virgin Galactic’s “Gateway to Space.” The Gateway to Space terminal is dug into the desert on one side with two floors of the building primarily focused on spaceflight operations. Federation leaders explored the unique building’s visitor gallery and the runway to where the Guinness World Records title was achieved.