Hawaii lawmakers look to space for economic diversification

Hawaii lawmakers look to space for economic diversification

State leaders are considering what could be a leap toward a decades-old goal of making the aerospace industry a big part of Hawaii’s economy. Two bills pending at the Legislature aim to help a California company launch payloads via rocket into space at low cost from a winged booster ship towed high into the sky by plane. The measures — one to let the firm sell up to $40 million in low-interest bonds and another to have the state help pay for bui…