Hawaii Keen on Exploring Space Tourism

Hawaii lawmakers last week passed a bill to turn the state into a major player in space tourism, according to latest news reports.

Under its Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, the Department of Business, Economic and Tourism (DBEDT) will proceed with plans to create an office for the development of space exploration activities.

The Center will simulate a lunar base on the Big Island, together with development of support technology and astronaut training. The state’s decision follows the confirmation by an Oklahoma aerospace company, Rocketplane Kistler, to use Hawaii as its base for space tourism, aiming to tourists to the edge of outer space by 2010.

Kistler will be competing with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, SpaceShipOne and the current leader in commercial suborbital flights, SpaceAdventures for a slice of the space tourism market.

Kistler has been in talks with Hawaii about developing a space-themed education and training facility at Kalaeloa. The facility will be the base for its suborbital flights originating from Honolulu and landing at Kona International Airport in Keahole.

Currently, Kistler is working on a $272 million government contract to build a rocket that can reach orbital space, in addition to building a fleet of commercial space ships. Hawaii made a similar move in early 1990, but it failed due to community opposition.