WATKINS, Colo. -- After an approximately five-year effort, Spaceport Colorado may finally be taking off. An official tells Denver7 the spaceport hopes to get a license from the federal government by the end of the year.
Located at Front Range Airport in Watkins, the spaceport would be a place for spacecraft to take off and land. Currently there are 11 approved sites by the federal government in the U.S.
So far, $860,000 has been spent to get a license.
Denver International Airport, the city of Aurora, Adams County, and the Federal Aviation Administration are among those contributing to the funding.
The operation could create jobs from a $300 billion industry.
Colorado already has a strong space presence from giants like Boeing and Sierra Nevada.
“If everything went great for a company like Virgin Galactic, you could see them with a commercial license within the new couple of years, and a couple of years after that, being able to actually operate at a place like Spaceport Colorado,” said director David Ruppel.
Such a development is exciting to longtime aviators.
“As hokey as it may be, kind of that final frontier, right?” said Brian Eaton, the chief pilot at Front Range Flight School.
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