Hawaii wants to add space travel to draws

HONOLULU (AP) — Tourists coming to Hawaii for high-end getaways could someday be launched from the sand to the stars, taking island-hopping to new heights.

Hawaii could become the first place where travelers can use the planes for real transportation. Planners envision planes taking off in one place, traveling through space, then landing in another, going from the Big Island to Oahu. Within a decade, space travelers could island-hop from Hawaii to Japan in 45 minutes.

And promoters promise a unique perspective during the flight.

“Flying down the Hawaii island chain, it’s a completely different view of the planet than you’ll see when you launch from landlocked states,” said Chuck Lauer, vice president of business development for Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane Global. “It’s the blue-planet view of the world.”

Hawaii’s tourism leaders recognize the potential for attracting visitors with the promise of space travel, but it’s unclear whether Gov. Linda Lingle will release the licensing money at a time when the state is facing big budget problems and possible government-employee layoffs. A new law authorizes the state to spend $500,000 to apply for a spaceport license from the federal government, which is the first step toward allowing commercial space travel from the islands.

Lingle has indicated she will either sign the legislation this month or let it become law without her signature. But she has the authority to withhold the money even after the bill becomes law.

If the plan goes forward, tourists would pay $200,000 for a weeklong package including spaceflight training, resort accommodations and short test flights to simulate weightlessness.

At the vacation’s finale, five voyagers would embark on a horizontal takeoff aboard a special rocket plane, climb to 40,000 feet before rockets fire, accelerate to 3,500 miles per hour, coast for a few minutes of weightlessness 62 miles above the Earth, flip over and then return to ground.