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Spaceport Development Picks Up Steam In Texas

Posted by samzenpus on from the if-you-build-it-they-will-launch dept.

RocketAcademy writes "The Lone Star State is moving to become a leader in spaceport development. The Houston Airport System is officially moving ahead with plans to turn Ellington Airport, near NASA's Johnson Space Center, into an FAA-licensed commercial spaceport. The airport system has completed a feasibility study for turning the field into a spaceport for suborbital spacecraft such as Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two and XCOR's Lynx. In the longer term, spacecraft could link Houston to Singapore in as little as three hours, according to airport system director Mario Diaz. Meanwhile, state Representative Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville) introduced a bill that would allow county commissioners to close a local beach for launches from the proposed SpaceX launch site in Cameron County. The bill is part of a flood of spaceport-related legislation that has been introduced recently in the Texas legislature."

4 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Houston to Singapore In As Little As Three Hours.. by Press2ToContinue · · Score: 5, Funny

    (Line for the 10-mile-high club forms to the rear of the craft.)

    "and thank-you for riding Virgin Galactic. We hope you'll come again."

    --
    Sent from my ENIAC
  2. Re:Science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey guess what? I am a Texas high school student and I am currently doing chemistry homework.

    No you're not, you are wasting time on /.

  3. Re:Science by Dasuraga · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No, I'm saying that the demographics of Texas (5th poorest state in the nation by poverty rate, among other things) cause the lower rankings, not the school system. The school system gives the tools for motivated children to learn, but when these children don't get three meals a day....

  4. Re:Cronyism at its finest by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Indeed! How can they possibly justify suggesting that a large-ish military/NASA airport within spitting distance of Johnson Space Center be used as a spaceport?! Why, next thing you know, they'll try and pass it off as common sense. One person I met had the gall to suggest that because Houston is one of the largest urban centers in the nation, is within a short driving distance of 3 of the top 5 seaports in the nation (which might make transporting parts for these craft easier), and has a high concentration of individuals connected to the space industry, it makes sense to put a starport there. How dare there! Harumph.