Spaceports, coming soon to a state near you ?

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The promise of blasting thrill-seeking tourists into space is fueling an unprecedented rush to build snazzy commercial spaceports.

The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing proposals from New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to be gateways for private space travel. Depending on how environmental reviews and other requirements go, approval could come as early as this year and the sites could be ferrying space tourists soon after.

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/05/16/space.port.boom.ap/index.html]http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/05/16/space.port.boom.ap/index.html[/ur l]

Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who is building a commercial spaceship fleet for British space tourism operator Virgin Galactic, recently expressed his amazement at the flurry of proposals.

"It's almost humorous to watch the worldwide battle of the spaceports," Rutan mused earlier this month at the International Space Development Conference.

The rush to build commercial space hubs is spurred by entrepreneurs who want to send rich passengers into suborbital space -- a region about 60 miles above Earth. Several will build their rockets this summer with tentative plans to fly as early as next year pending regulatory approval.

New Mexico, which inked a deal with Virgin Galactic last year to construct a $225 million spaceport on 27 square miles of desert, is expected to select a winning architectural design from six entries on June 2.




This is too good to be true, I only hope that someday, I can take a ride into space.
I would love it.
Would you go into space if given the option.