LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The future of space travel could be coming to Las Vegas.
That’s according to a new company opening a space training facility just a 15-minute helicopter ride from the Las Vegas Strip.
A Las Vegas company has announced that it will be opening the Las Vegas Spaceport in Clark County. The facility aims to be a “leading destination for space exploration, accommodating both commercial and private space tourism,” a release from The Las Vegas Spaceport said.
The project will be built on 240 acres outside of Las Vegas near the vicinity of Area 51 and the Nevada Test Range.
According to the CEO’s LinkedIn page, the project will cost $310 million.
Robert Lauer, Developer and CEO of Las Vegas Spaceport, is a commercial real estate developer, pilot, and former U.S. Army Military Police Officer.
“Our first step is to build a facility where we can nurture the next generation of scientific innovators and space explorers,” Lauer said.
The facility will offer civilian space flight acclimation training, support and hangar space for space vehicles, and a post-high school STEM Academy. That training would be done with advanced flight simulators and would be with a partnership through the Las Vegas Flight Academy. It also aims to inspire and train space pilots using advanced flight simulators.
“Our proposed education facility within the Las Vegas Spaceport will provide a comprehensive curriculum designed to inspire students to pursue careers in aerospace, engineering, and related industries,” Lauer explained. “In addition, we will train tomorrow’s space pilots.”
With its location near Area 51, the Nevada Test Range, Nellis Air Force Base, and Creech Air Force Base, the Las Vegas Spaceport will be within the proximity of what the release called the best aerospace minds in the nation.
“Ten years from now tourists will be coming here to the Las Vegas Spaceport and boarding a space plane for their journey perhaps to a hotel in space, perhaps to the moon, or even perhaps to Mars,” Lauer explained in a promotional video for the project.
Other plans for the project include a hotel, a passenger terminal, a rooftop observation deck, and a restaurant.
