Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rocky Mountain High

Colorado is moving ahead with its effort to build a spaceport on the high plains outside Denver.  The plan is to use open land to convert the Front Range Airport, which is near Denver International, into a spaceport.  The project has the support of Colorado's governor, state legislature, and congressional delegation-- plus, of course, the state's substantial aerospace business community.

Those behind the project envision a big future for Colorado as one major hub of a point-to-point suborbital travel network that would allow people to reach the farthest places on Earth within two hours.  That technology is nowhere near ready yet, but it does have the potential to revolutionize long distance travel, international business, and even military strategy.  The question is whether a business case can be made for a spaceport in the interim.

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