One small step for....Hawaii aerospace industry

Tomorrow marks the 38th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon through the Apollo 11 mission. On July 16, 1969, Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins launched into orbit on the Columbia. Four days later, on July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin separated on the lunar module Eagle for the moon landing while Collins continued to orbit on the Columbia command module.

This year, the legislature appropriated $500,000 towards the support of an aerospace industry in Hawaii. SB907 renames the Office of Space Industry in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, as the Office of Aerospace Development, with the goal of positioning Hawaii to be nationally and globally competitive. The appropriation allows the department to establish and operate the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems or PISCES, in order to support space exploration and settlement.