News Release 6:
South Dakota Governor Mike Round - Space Port
May 16, 2005

On May 16, 2005, Norm Hansen, Energy USA Inc, President, wrote South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds that we would like to use Ellsworth�s facilities as a Spaceport for taking thousands of people on Space Adventures to space stations orbiting the Earth in minutes. The Space Island Group plans to build circular amusement parks that will rotate at one-third normal gravity to enable dining, bathing, and other activities without the harmful physical zero-gravity effects.

We have requested to have a meeting with the Governor and his staff to discuss the enormous opportunities for Western South Dakota.  We are particularly interested in the transition plans and when the property would be transferred back to the State of South Dakota. Ellsworth could be converted into an international airport. Our future plans include taking people on Space Adventures to colonies on the Moon in hours, planets in days, and with advanced technology, the stars in weeks.

U.S. Department of Defense has recommended that Ellsworth Air Force Base be closed. The S.D. Governor, U.S. Senator John Thune, and U.S. Senator Tim Johnson are working to keep the base open. However, if the base is going to be closed, the Governor's Office is developing a alternate plan to obtain the property from the federal government along with approximately $600 million in transition and economic recovery assistance. Ellsworth AFB could be used to develop a new technology-based economy for the Black Hills Area by creating hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of new high-tech jobs.