Hawaii State Rep. Gene Ward discuses efforts to create a spaceport in America’s in the islands.

China has kicked off construction on a new spaceport on the southern island of Hainan that will also include a theme park, according to a story on Chinaview.com. Officials expect to complete the new launch center in about five years. They will use the facility to launch geostationary and polar-orbit satellites as well as deep-space probes. The space theme park will feature zero gravity rides and other attractions.

Canada’s National Post reports that Cape Breton could become a future gateway for space tourists, possibly with the help of NASA funding. PlanetSpace, a Chicago company that is backing the Canadian spaceport, is one of several companies that are bidding for a $175 million in NASA’s COTS program. The program funds projects to develop commercial vehicles that can fly crews and cargo to the International Space Station. NASA plans to […]

A Texas County has apparently passed on a proposal by the Space Access Society to build a spaceport within its territory. The Kenedy Memorial Foundation says it has decided against offering 25,000 acres of ranch land in Kenedy County for a spaceport and theme park. Read the full stories here and here.