In July, Italian aerospace companies signed an agreement with Virgin Galactic to take space tourists with about $250,000 to burn on suborbital flights offering vistas of the curvature of the Earth and about five minutes of minimum gravity. Forty-six sites around the country were considered for the honor of serving as the project’s new launchpad. In May Italy’s transportation ministry decided that Grottaglie, population 35,000 — with its long runway, uneventful weather and record as a test bed for remotely piloted helicopters and other unmanned aircraft — had the right stuff. On Monday, Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, stood next to President Trump at the White House and used the big occasion to talk about “launching, as soon as possible, new planes that, crossing the atmosphere, will be able to connect Italy and the United States in an hour and a half.”“No one’s laughing anymore,” said Michele Emiliano, the region’s president, who has been caricatured as floating in space in an extra-large astronaut’s suit.

Source: New York Times July 31, 2018 03:00 UTC