Outta this world

Are you ready to blast off? For only $200,000, you can enter outer space and take a spin 75 miles above the Earth at 3,000 milers per hour. That’s right, Dear Readers, Virgin Galactic has the perfect trip for those wealthy (filthy rich) adventurers (fools) who are looking for an “out of this world” experience. Start saving your money now, because  space travel is just a few years away. More than 200 thrill seekers have already signed up for this ninety‑minute “ride to remember.”

Oh, did I mention that Arizona is losing out to New Mexico when it comes to building the first American “Spaceport?” While the mayor of Phoenix is busy giving millions in “incentives” to developers who will only build the same old chain restaurants and shops, he should have been trying to snag the Virgin Galactic deal. If taxpayers are footing the bill, why not make it something brilliant and forward‑thinking, like a spaceport? Imagine the possibilities!

I think I know the perfect spot for a spaceport–Gavilan Peak. Sitting majestically between New River and Anthem, it eerily resembles the mountain that was the magnet for all of those obsessed people in the movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” That mountaintop would be the perfect launch pad. All right, so a 10,000‑foot runway is required, but that’s a small detail that could be easily worked out.

If very rich people are willing to pay $200,000 for a ninety‑minute joy ride (with a $20,000 non‑refundable deposit), they will also probably pay big bucks for T‑shirts, life insurance policies, photos of the blast‑off and any number of souvenirs. An entire cottage industry

could spring up around the Spaceport. The economic outlook just got brighter, folks, for anyone living within a 20‑mile radius of this futuristic launch‑pad.

Fasten your seatbelts! The G‑force is about 3.5 when you are catapulted into space and traveling where only the few, the brave, and the wealthy can go. Forget gorilla treks in the jungle. Who cares about climbing the highest peaks in the world? What’s the big deal about whitewater rafting? This is space! The last frontier, the best, last place to explore.

No, we definitely do not need another mall with the shops that sell all the usual, boring stuff to revitalize Phoenix. How many places can we go to spend our money, before it all looks the same? Space is the place, the only hope to get Arizona on the map, to lure the big spenders to our back yard and to finally have a good reason to increase taxes. It might be a little noisy, perhaps a bit dangerous, but why should the residents of New Mexico have all the fun?

It’s time to speak up. Write your mayor, state representatives, governor, heck, even Sheriff Joe. Demand that Arizona be in contention for the Galactic Spaceport, so we can have a foothold in the future of travel. Fasten your seatbelts, save your money (or play the lottery), and look up at the stars. Soon, the only trip you’ll ever want to take is a reservation away. Science fiction has become reality, so be sure to book your flight now. See you in orbit? Not me, but I do have a few T‑shirts you might like.