Hawaii Looks to Space Tourism to Aid Recession Woes:
According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the state would start by spending up to a million dollars developing a spaceport.But Hawaii isn't alone: The state is already facing heady competition from states including Florida, Okalahoma and New Mexico, all of which are moving into the space tourism market.
Hawaii has one comparative advantage: it's further south. I recall that the increased velocity of the earth's rotation the closer you get to the equator means that you get some energy for lift-off for free. This is why the French launch their rockets from French Guiana, and the Soviets had a facility in Kazakhstan.
Comments
Oh, my... The housing bubble's burst, let's start a spaceport bubble...
Fun fact: ESA is building a Soyuz launching pad, so the Russians will be able to launch their rockets from French Guiana, too. :)
Posted by: Daggerstab | July 15, 2009 5:05 PM
Kazakhstan is north of Florida. Heck, Kazakhstan is north of New York. A small, but important, detail. :)
Posted by: Alan Kellogg | July 15, 2009 11:20 PM
another important detail: you can't go that far south in the former USSR.
Posted by: razib | July 15, 2009 11:49 PM
1) ESA is not the French. ESA includes Canada :)
2) Russia still has the facility in Kazakhstan.
3) The "French" actually launch the rockets from within the European Union ;)
Posted by: Peter Lund | July 21, 2009 7:44 AM