Taiwan open to U.S. spaceport idea, but says more evaluation needed

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) As the United States pushes forward with its spaceport program, which could cut travel time between Houston and Taiwan to 2.5 hours, Taiwan said Monday it welcomed the initiative but that specific plans still required further evaluation.

In a Facebook post Monday, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, said bilateral space cooperation has been expanding, "including possible spaceport cooperation."

"If suborbital flights were used, travel time between Taipei and Houston could be shortened to as little as 2.5 hours," the AIT said, noting that Ellington Airport -- one of the three major airports in the Texas city -- already holds a legal spaceport license.

"The potential cooperation initially could focus on unmanned cargo missions, and as the technology matures, manned flights could also be considered in the future," the AIT said.

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), which oversees the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), said Taiwan welcomed the expansion of bilateral space cooperation, but that specific plans for space transportation still required further evaluation and discussion.

An entirely new form of transportation, the spaceport program could use several different approaches, an unnamed official from Houston First, the tourism bureau of Houston, said in late June.

One would involve a large aircraft carrying a spacecraft into the air and releasing it over open ocean, the official said.

After release, the spacecraft would ignite its engine, ascend vertically through the atmosphere, adjust its orientation, then return to Earth in a free-fall trajectory before making a precision landing at a designated airport, the official added.

According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. has more than 10 spaceports and launch or reentry sites, including the Houston Spaceport, which is located next to Ellington Airport.

That airport focuses on spacecraft development and supports training activities for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

A source familiar with the matter told CNA that relevant U.S. agencies have engaged in informal discussions about the spaceport concept with TASA during international exchange events.

Given the speed of launch and landing, such travel is currently unsuitable for untrained passengers, making cargo transport a more feasible application, the source said.

Taiwan currently does not have a spaceport.

The NSTC announced earlier this year that Jiupeng in Pingtung County was selected as the location for Taiwan's national launch facility, with current plans focused on launch operations after the site is completed.

But space has been reserved at the site for potential expansion into a spaceport capable of handling landings, according to the source.