LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) -- Several thousand space enthusiasts swarmed to the city's airport for a glimpse of a future in which you might just as easily book a rocket to space as you would a plane to Las Vegas.The final day of X Prize Cup Week in New Mexico on Sunday drew a throng of would-be astronauts, entrepreneurs and curiosity seekers. They milled about the wind-swept airport grounds transformed for the afternoon into a Tomorrowland-type theme park.The organizers' goals were to show off what clever things entrepreneurs are doing to get into space, and to promote the X Prize Cup, a weeklong competition scheduled to begin in southern New Mexico next year. The contest will include a rocket race that backers pitch as a NASCAR event in three dimensions.State officials, including Gov. Bill Richardson, are hoping that rocket races and space tourism will one day be a major part of the economy in New Mexico, a place that boasts the needed clear skies, wide open spaces and abundant controlled air space. They successfully bid to host the X Prize Cup, a spinoff of the $10 million Ansari X Prize, which was won last October by SpaceShipOne, which blasted into space two times in five days from a California desert.Sunday's event in Las Cruces was considered a dress rehearsal for next year's larger event, and a barometer for how the public would respond. Some complained of too much hype, but it also drew some raves."It's a way to get me connected to the big picture, see what concepts people are trying out," said Ryan Sloan, a 26-year-old student from Albuquerque who was waiting in line to get an autograph from NASA astronaut Ken Cockrell.Sloan said he'd be a willing space tourist. "But if they can't strap me into a rocket today, at least I can hear the message and shake the hands of people who have done it," he said.Rick Homans, the state's economic development secretary, called the day "the successful launch of a whole new industry in the state."The highlights were the live demonstrations of rockets, although long lines formed between launches for hands-on exhibits, including a computer simulated rocket ride. Inside a big white tent, entrepreneurs pitched everything from robotic pets to colonization maps for Mars.In a brief talk, Cockrell described for the crowd what it's like to see a sunrise from outer space."It just stops you, takes away all your stress, and the beauty just washes over you," he said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.