Houston: Behind In The Space Race?

[N Judah]

Hey, check out this link...Virgin Galactic is looking at sites and there could be a space tourism theme park by Space Adventures which would be a *great* fit for Houston.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7625868/

Virgin Galactic scouts locations

In a second launch site, Virgin wants a location with easy access to the East Coast and the Midwest, as well as Europe. Good weather, tourist facilities and economic incentives will also be attractive to Virgin, he said. A runway of more than 10,000 feet would likely be needed, as well as a commercial spaceport license for the facility.

Despite Florida's allure to tourists, the drawback is that operating in its existing federal facilities would be expensive, Anderson said. Nevada, Texas and California are among the other states being considered.

Capt. Winston Scott, the executive director of the Florida Space Authority, called Florida a great place to launch from because of its geographic features and a natural tourist destination that can accommodate wealthy visitors. But if Florida doesn't get more aggressive to attract companies planning tourist space flights, it will lose them to other states, the former astronaut said.

There are four commercially licensed spaceports in the United States and 11 new ports proposed by states such as California, Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.