I was surprised when I wrote about it before that this was so low-profile and, in local terms, that’s still true. I suppose it’s a work in progress, so there aren’t many press releases going out at the moment.
However, a story appeared today on Slashdot, about Richard Branson unveiling more details about the launch vehicle for Virgin Galactic. If anyone can popularise mass participation in sub-orbital vehicles, it will be Virgin! Anyway, the main article appeared on space.com so, I thought, aha, this will probably have stories on what’s happening in Singapore.
And, indeed, it does. Here’s one that describes the current situation. The spaceport is making progress; the government of Singapore is currently developing a regulatory framework for it. The article offers a good review of the very broad range of activities that will be available in the camp, and relates the project to Singapore’s program to reinvent its tourism profile.
I think we’re going to see a great synergy here between the two spaceport projects. Branson’s Virgin Galactic will undoubtedly have the stronger global profile, and will establish the concept in the world’s imagination. Depending on the price point that eventually emerges once the services actually start operating, I suspect demand will grow rapidly and Singapore will benefit from this interest, as Asian tourists come here for their space trips rather than go to the American desert.
