Will Rocketplane Bring Space Tourism To Hawaii?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 13th 2009 at 8:01AM

Hawaii to Oahu via space? That's the potential plan being floated by Rocketplane Global which hopes to put a new spin on island hopping. The flight offers a different view of our planet than other space tourism take-off points, showcasing the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. At a time when Hawaii tourism is in the doldrums the state is considering a new law authorizes the state to spend $500,000 to apply for a spaceport license from the federal government. Hawaii's governor, Linda Lingle will either sign the legislation this month or let it become law without her signature.

The program, which will take about three years to complete, would make Hawaii the eighth state with a spaceport license. Travelers would eventually pay around $200,000 for a weeklong package for training and before a flight offering a a few minutes of weightlessness 62 miles above the Earth. Several space tourism companies, including Rocketplane, have shown interest in coming to Hawaii. It makes sense to have space tourism in an an area that already has facilities for accommodating guests in place. Since the bulk of the space tourism experience involves training with the actual space flight taking very little time, travelers might be compelled to want to spend that time in scenic surroundings.

Tags: hawaii, rocketplane, space tourism, SpaceTourism