Michigan rocket launch site selected at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport

Gavin Brown, Executive Director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association

Gavin Brown, Executive Director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association, announces the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport as the site selected for a horizontal launch facility on Feb. 18, 2020.

The Michigan Launch Initiative is moving forward with a horizontal launch site at Oscoda-Wurthsmith Airport, the group announced at a press conference Tuesday.

Michigan Aerospace Manufacturing Association Executive Director Gavin Brown said Michigan was well-situated for a launch site.

“If you look at population density and other aspects, access to water, things of those nature that are associated with launches, the northern part of our great state actually serves very well for this. And, I think, for mid-America,” Brown said.

“So we’re certainly in a very strong position not only saying this is in Michigan but why mid-America should be looking at Michigan to become a space state.”

The group was considering four airports for the horizontal launch: Sawyer International Airport in Marquette County, Chippewa County International Airport, Alpena County Regional Airport and Oscoda-Wurthsmith Airport.

Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport is the one the group will move forward with, though Brown warned it wasn’t a final. The site will be studied further as the group seeks licensure from the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Today’s announcement is preliminary in nature. Much more work has to be conducted,” Brown said.

A horizontal launch site, Brown explained, is where a ship or airplane goes up to a certain altitude and then drops another vehicle that takes goes up into the atmosphere. That’s what’s planned in Oscoda. The Michigan Launch Initiative is still looking for a vertical launch site.

The site is expected to launch low-earth orbit and middle earth orbit satellites up to 250 miles above the earth’s surface, Brown said, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of space-related tourism, either.

There are a dozen similar launch facilities licensed across the nation right now, Brown said, but only four launch.

Rep. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, who represents Oscoda, said she expects the launch site to have a big economic impact, including more job opportunities.

“The idea of having this in Oscoda is absolutely fantastic. I know the people in the area have been fully immersed in trying to get this there. It would be a huge boon to the economy and it’s something that Northern Michigan needs,” Allor said.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said the legislature previously appropriated $2 million to do the initial site feasibility study, which the Michigan Economic Development Corporation partnered with the Michigan Launch Initiative on.

He said it brought opportunities to Northern Michigan and gave Michigan the opportunity to be a space state.

“This isn’t just one part of Michigan but multiple parts of the state that I think eventually will be affected by it. So, I think it brings a new opportunity for advancement and the focus on Michigan having the capability to do that,” Stamas said.

The Oscoda-Wurthsmith Airport, formerly the Wurtsmith Air Force Base, has been in the news recently because of its PFAS contamination. Asked about potential issues with the site because of the contamination, Brown said “all of that will be evaluated in the feasibility study.”

Related: Oscoda residents say ‘enough’ after 9 years of PFAS with no cleanup plan

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