HOUSTON (NASA PR) — After evaluating more than 12,000 applications, NASA will introduce its 2021 astronaut candidates at 12:30 p.m. EST Monday, Dec. 6, from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. After completing training, these individuals could be eligible for a variety of flight assignments including missions on and around the Moon under Artemis.
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Conceptualized image of SNC’s Dream Chaser® spacecraft landing on the runway at Houston’s Ellington Field. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)
SPARKS, Nev., April 10, 2014 (SNC PR) – In a joint news conference held today at the Rice University Space Institute, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and the Houston Airport System (HAS) announced plans to explore potential applications and multiple economic development opportunities presented by the combination of a Houston-based space port and SNC’s Dream Chaser® – a spacecraft that can land at the space port directly from low-Earth orbit.
Despite abundant evidence that America already has far too many spaceports and far too few launches, Houston Airport System officials are going forward with a plan to obtain a spaceport license for Ellington Field.
Director Mario Diaz on Wednesday said the system is officially moving forward with a plan to turn Ellington Airport into one of the nation’s first spaceports and is seeking certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
NASA T-38 jets at Ellington Field. (Credit: NASA)
It looks like Houston is looking to get a spaceport of its own:
As Houston’s elected leaders consider whether to allow flights from Hobby Airport to Cancún, local aviation officials are studying the possibility of a much more exotic destination for flights out of Ellington Airport: space.
Technically, it is feasible, Airport System Director Mario Diaz has concluded. A consultant’s study maps out an air route that would have vehicles launch from Ellington out over the Gulf of Mexico, climb to 100 kilometers above the Earth, then return to Ellington.
