ANA and Marubeni join to build spaceport in Japan

3-km runways for airplane-style craft will open as early as 2021

20181115N ANA spacecraft (DO NOT REUSE)

A rendering of a spacecraft under development by ANA and PD Aerospace. The airline and its partners aim to build a space travel hub with runways for horizontal takeoff.

NATSUKO SEGAWA, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- All Nippon Airways operator ANA Holdings and trading house Marubeni will set up a spaceport in Japan as early as 2021, Nikkei has learned.

The launch site, equivalent to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft, will be for private space travel, and feature 3-km runways for craft that take off horizontally like airplanes.

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