From the UP to space: Site near Marquette picked as rocket launch site – Detroit Free Press

Site near Marquette picked as rocket launch site. USA TODAY Handout

A rocket blasting toward the heavens over Lake Superior.

What could be more Pure Michigan than that?

The push to turn Michigan into one of a handful of states with active space launch operations has a new milestone.

An undeveloped, 3-mile stretch of land along the lakeabout 16 miles north of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, has been picked to host a vertical launch site. Picture Cape Canaveral, although not on the same grand scale, according to the man spearheading the effort.

Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association, told the Free Press that the site could be operational in the next five or six years if plans come to fruition. Browns manufacturing associationhas been instrumental in the push to bring a bit of the last frontier to the Great Lakes State.

This is a rendering of an undeveloped, three-mile stretch of land along Lake Superior about 16 miles north of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, which has been picked to host a vertical launch site for rockets.(Photo: Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association)

In February, the Oscoda-WurtsmithAirport, a former Air Force base perhaps best known now because of its connection to PFAS pollution from its military days, was picked to handle what are called horizontal launches,with operations possible as early as 2023, should it be approved by the feds. Basically, it would mean large jets would ferry satellite bundleshigh enough to be launchedinto low Earth orbit. Brown said the intent for both sites is to create environmentally safelaunch operations, with as many as 300 launches in Oscoda and a few dozen near Marquette each year.

The idea that Michigan could become a serious launch location for space flights might sound farfetched, but Brown said Michigan has some clear advantages and there's a key reason that it could come to pass. The auto industry needs access to space to make its self-driving car dream a reality. The continuous communications connections needed for fully autonomous driving require satellites, and Michigan, with its northern location, means satellites couldfind spaces in orbit that are underserved by more southernlaunch sites. Plus, Michigans proximity to large bodies of water provides an essential safety component.

Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association, leads the Michigan Launch Initiative and is photographed at his hotel in Sterling Heights in 2019.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

The automotive manufacturers are trying to figure out how to get that connectivity in their cars, Brown said, noting that the effort his group is pushing would allow the Detroit Three to benefit from a network the companieswould not have to build on their own. He noted the advantage Tesla enjoys because of Elon Musks connection as founder of SpaceX, which has become a major player in the commercial space industry.

Im talking about the convergence of automotive and space, and why do it anywhere but here in Michigan? Brown said this week.

The potential for significant employment gains, an estimated high end of 40,000 direct and spin-off jobsin Michigan is one reason the entire project has seen interest from the state, which contributed$2 million for a feasibility study. Its also why the operation could see stimulus money in coming months, although nothing is set, Brown said.

By the end of the year, as much as $1.2 billion should be secured for the project, thanks tointerest from several equity firms, Brown said.But he noted that fundraising would not formally begin until after the feasibility process has finished.

The site of a command and control center, which could be located anywhere in the state, is to be announced in November. Brown used NASAs approach to illustrate why such a facility would not need to be located close to a launch site.

Think of Houston being the command and control center for Cape Canaveral, Brown said.

And the high-paying jobsthatcould be created in connection with the project would likely be spread out across the state.

Kurt Ruppenthal, vice president and general manager of Warren-based Weldaloy, said his business would easily add another 30 or 40 employees to the 100 on staff now should the spaceport effort come to pass. Weldaloy makes specialty forgings for rocket engines, something it has been doing for at least the last decade. Its a prime example of a company that once focused heavily on supplying the auto industry and has since shifted its growth elsewhere, the kind of diversification that could benefit others in Michigan manufacturing.

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Ruppenthal said Weldaloy, which is part of Browns aerospace group, already works with major companies involved in the space business, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Virgin Orbit, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

The potential for job growth with an expanding aerospace industry is easy to envision. Consider the layers of software components, engineering, design, manufacturing and flight planning that would be needed, kind of an aviation-plus situation.

Imagine an airport, but the airports going to space, Ruppenthal said.

In Oscoda, adding aspaceportto the current aviation operationscould mean a considerable boost to the local community, said Airport Manager Gary Kellan.

The communities around the airport have fewer than 10,000 residents, he noted.

"If youcan create 500 jobs, that would be big," Kellan said.

Brown, who touted the existing infrastructure, including the 11,800-foot runway at Oscoda, said a completed launch site in the Lake Huron-area communitycould generate 2,500 to 10,000 jobs.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

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