Japan is working with design architects and non-profits to produce a concept for a floating spaceport in Tokyo Bay. The project is meant to lay the groundwork for a vibrant space tourism business in a densely populated, urban landscape.
Designers from Noiz Architects as well as the non-profit Spaceport Japan have developed a concept of the spaceport meant to fire up the imagination of city officials and residents.
Project collaborators are hoping to catch the wave of innovation in space tourism. The industry is projected to be a multi-billion to trillion-dollar industry in the coming decades.
Spaceport City would utilize horizontal-launch spacecraft much like Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. These spacecraft would offer similar services too, launching citizens 50 miles into space in order to see the curvature of the Earth. Other services would include point-to-point travel to places all over the world in record time.
Alongside space tourism, Spaceport City would also be a transportation, education, and entertainment hub. Essentially it would be a one-stop location for all things future and space-related. Plans include state-of-the-art sustainable architecture for universities, restauraunts, and hospitals. Everything from space museums to movie theaters and space-themed dancehalls are also on the books. Transportation would include self-driving cars, high-speed trains, and electric transportation in addition to space-based travel methods.
Although it is just a concept at this point, it is expected that urban spaceports will soon become commonplace. With companies like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX leading the charge in space tourism, spaceports all over the world have been popping up to assist in launch volume.
If anything, Spaceport City’s vision will be enough to stoke the imagination of the next generation who will see space travel as a normal occurrence.