Big on ideas, but short on funding, the staff at a small Hilo-based aerospace agency are hoping a bill moving through the state Legislature will make the difference.
Big on ideas, but short on funding, the staff at a small Hilo-based aerospace agency are hoping a bill moving through the state Legislature will make the difference.
House Bill 574 would establish a “basalt materials research account” for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, funded with state royalties from basalt mining leases.
What connects the state agency and basalt mining is the organization’s vision for manufacturing on the moon and Mars, which both share Hawaii’s volcanic geology.
Program Manager Rodrigo Romo said basalt could be used as an on-site resource for construction and manufacturing tools on future space missions. But the same also could be done here on Earth, and PISCES’ selling point to lawmakers is the research could lead to more applications for basalt here in the state.
“When it comes to economic development, this is an area we are very much interested,” said Romo, adding basalt can be used to make rebar, fiberglass and can replace concrete.
“It’s lighter and stronger than steel,” he said, referring to basalt rebar.
PISCES already built a portion of a sidewalk in Hilo with basalt and a rocket launching pad, though the latter didn’t go as planned. About 30 percent of the interlocked basalt pavers were strewn when the small rocket ignited.
That can be fixed with more research, Romo said.
But research requires money, and the $400,000 a year is mostly enough to cover staff wages and rent, he said.
The loss of supplemental funding this fiscal year meant PISCES could no longer afford an executive director.
Rob Kelso, a former NASA flight director, had to step down from the top position last year because there wasn’t enough money for the position, said Romo, who now acts as administrator.
As it stands now, the bill would provide PISCES with another sustainable funding source, but how much is unclear, Romo said.
The original bill would have levied a new tax on basalt quarries, which was rejected by the industry.
“Creating a new tax was just not the way to go,” he said.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Mark Nakashima, was amended Feb. 28 to get rid of the tax and is scheduled for a House floor vote today. The current version relies on existing revenue the state receives from land lease royalties.
“Given the situation right now we’re in financially, anything would help PISCES,” Romo said.
Another Nakashima bill, House Bill 1326, would provide funds to study the feasibility of a basalt fiber facility in the state. That’s also scheduled for a House vote today.
This isn’t the first time PISCES, which operates under the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, sought more funding from the Legislature. Most requests have been turned down.
Romo said he remains optimistic.
“I say we came out with a much stronger relationship with some members of the Legislature,” he said.
“Even if these bills die, I think it was a good experience for PISCES.”
Not every aerospace bill has made it this far.
Senate Bill 1247, which would have studied whether Hawaii could host a launching facility for small satellites, failed to get a second hearing in the Senate.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.