Nevada steps up effort to land new space program

Nevada is one of 15 states vying to become home for Lockheed Martin's VentureStar, a new space shuttle program for the 21st century. The company will decide in early 2001 where to locate the lucrative spaceport.

A nonprofit, quasi-public company known as NTS Development Corp. is stepping up its efforts to bring the spaceport to the test site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The company is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to find new ways to use the test site for peaceful purposes. The site once hosted the nation's nuclear weapons testing.

"Nevada could become the Cape Canaveral for the next several decades (if it lands the spaceport)," said Joseph Brown, NTS Development board chairman.

Tim Carlson, NTS Development president and former state and Las Vegas economic development director, agreed: "(It's) the biggest opportunity we have had in the 20 years I have been in economic development in Nevada."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said the project would provide 2,000 new jobs and an economic impact of about $3 billion a year.

NTS Development officials are touring the state this month to present a unified front in favor of Nevada's bid.

They insist the test site would be a prime choice for the spaceport because it would offer Lockheed Martin a dry, sunny climate and air space the size of New Jersey.

Unlike some bigger states such as California, Nevada also is known for cutting through bureaucracy when needed, Carlson said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn and other top political officials met with Martin Lockheed officials for several hours in late July to discuss the state's proposal.

Carlson said the VentureStar would not pose a hazard for Las Vegas, and few Nevadans, if any, would be under the flight path.

The VentureStar is designed to be the next generation of NASA space shuttles at a fraction of the cost. It's set to replace the 1970s-era shuttle in sending satellites into space.

The test site already has one aerospace tenant, Kistler Aerospace Corp. The company plans to have its K-1 reusable rocket ship carrying satellites into low orbit within two years.

Also vying to land the spaceport are Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington, New Mexico, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Virginia, Texas, South Carolina and North Carolina.

archive