The Mojave Airport was created in 1935 as part of the Kern County Airport System and was built to serve gold mines near Mojave. At the outset of World War Two, it became a Marine Corps Air Station that trained Marine aviators in gunnery, producing the most productive aerial gunners in the Pacific War. Following the war, it was designated a Naval Air Station that supported some of the first flight tests of what are now known as unmanned aerial vehicles. During the Korean Conflict, it served as a Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station from 1951 to 1959. In 1972, local voters approved creation of what became the East Kern Airport District, and the airport became an incubator for the emerging private space industry, culminating in 2004 with SpaceShipOne winning the Ansari X-Prize. Over the years, the vision of General Managers Dan Sabovich and Stuart Witt, airport board directors, and a dedicated and innovative staff contributed to the success of the Mojave Air and Spaceport. In 2010, as the airport celebrated its Diamond Anniversary, a new generation of civilian space vehicles were being developed and tested at the nation’s first commercial spaceport, which also supported a bustling industrial park and transloading of wind turbine components arriving on the airport’s extensive railroad system.