Nova Scotia to Build Space Tourist Launchpad

Identity Missing writes "Lockheed Martin is planning on building a commercial spaceport in Nova Scotia Canada. The details are a bit shaky, but apparently the project is serious enough to attract 45 million dollars from the Federal government. The launch pad will specifically be built in Cape Breton, a mostly rural island characterized by low employment, thick colloquial accents, and kitchen fiddle parties. A PDF is available with pictures and a description of the planned orbital glider, the 'Silver Dart,' somewhat lacking the aesthetics of the X Prize winner."

Comments

Weather?

[ScentCone]

The last time I drove around Cape Breton - it was early October and the colors finally made me understand the red maple leaf on the flag - it was a lovely afternoon. We pitched a small campsite in a place with a name something like "Killmychickencluck," and had a lovely evening. We woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a bull moose roaming around the camp, and barely fell back asleep. When we woke up again, there was a roughly 2-inch layer of spikey frost on everything. It was spectacular. We tried to talk to the locals about it, but We're Not From Around There, and they didn't take to us very well, I'm afraid. But we were able to gather that the weather just gets more interesting from then until, say, May. Wouldn't it make more sense to park this sort of thing somewhere with a bit more year-round opportunity for doing business, climate-wise? It's a bit of a drive down to Halifax, but there was a lovely Italian place for dinner, and a Holiday Inn with a clean pool. And, men in kilts working the tourist stops. But they had entirely the wrong accent for that, thus producing a sort of Highland Dissonance Syndrome that counteracted all tourist spending urges. Perhaps adding rocket ships to the mix will fix that.

Re:History lesson for you...

[ShieldW0lf]

There has been ongoing interest in developing a spaceport in this region for some time. Because of its location, they are able to reuse Russian telemetry data.

This is a great place for such an effort. We are on the ocean and have the worlds deepest harbour nearby. The site is all solid rock, the top of what's left of the Appalachian mountain chain. There is a huge deposit of undersea natural gas nearby waiting to be developed and supply energy needs.

The population here are the most overeducated, underpaid group of people in the country, there are engineers all over the place that were raised in a naval tradition, and one of the major industries of the provincial capital is educating foreigners, so there's a great foundation for inbound brain drain.

They aren't the only company interested in this effort either.

I'm quite looking forward to hopping in the car for a few hours and kicking back in Cape Breton National Park with a case of beer and a joint to watch rocket ships take off.