(NewsNation) — A company is looking to build an airstrip and open a facility focused on space tourism just a few short miles away from the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
NewsNation local affiliate KLAS reports that the Clark County Commission unanimously approved construction permits for the airstrip being planned by Las Vegas Spaceport.
Las Vegas Spaceport, according to KLAS, plans to hold air races and build a control tower, a hanger, a passenger terminal and an observation deck as well as a place for civilian space flight acclimation training. KLAS writes that a groundbreaking for the 240-acre site in the vicinity of Area 51 and the Nevada Test Range could come in the next three months.
CEO Rob Lauer said he expects to see spaceplanes emerge as a new technology within three to five years.
“This is the future of space travel as far as I believe,” Lauer said on “NewsNation Now.” “Inland spaceport like ours will become a viable facility to allow that, and frankly, we need it to be able to compete with China, to compete with India, to compete with Europe.”