Spaceport decision pushed back
IT’LL BE ANOTHER couple of weeks before we hear whether Sawyer International Airport has been selected as the horizontal launch site for the Spaceport.
The announcement, which had been expected on Tuesday, has been delayed until mid February.
Five airports, all in the UP or northern Michigan, are in the running for both the horizontal and vertical sites which would launch commercial satellites into space. According to Sawyer Airport manager Duane Duray, two airports could be selected for the two launch sites, or one could be chosen for both.
Question: What kind of noise and disruption might these launch sites create?
“If it’s the horizontal launch, there shouldn’t be much concern,” Duray says. “It’ll be a big plane but it’ll be just like any other takeoff at Sawyer. “If it’s a vertical launch, that would be different. It’ll be a rocket but not a large one. Not like a NASA rocket.”
Duray says he’s been told the sites, if chosen, can expect to launch between one and two satellites a month.
The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association is making the selection. But once the selection is made, other steps would follow–namely getting FAA licensing and environmental approval for the launch site.
In addition, there’d be construction at the airport: a fueling station, a “clean” room to assemble the satellites, and a housing facility for the planes and rockets.
All of this could take time. A couple of years, at least.
If Sawyer is chosen for either one of the sites, however, the economic impact would be significant–hundreds of new jobs, new businesses, and an infusion of millions of dollars monthly into the economy.
A very big deal.
There’s a signal, but it’s weak
WE’VE HAD INQUIRIES about WDMJ, the talk radio station. When are they coming back on the air?
You might recall, they had a fire in their tuning shack at the base of their tower in Marquette almost four weeks ago. It took them off the air.
Well, the fact is, they and their sister station WIAN were back on the air a couple of days later, but with a temporary antenna and a very limited signal. Most residents likely still can’t hear them.
When will they be back at full power? Uncertain, according to a receptionist at the station. They’re dealing with insurance issues, he said.
And winter is hardly the ideal time to deal with major repairs.
Teens to the rescue
A SCENE TO give you pause…and hope…a few evenings ago in Harvey.
A snowy, icy mix was falling from the sky, and the parking lot outside the McDonalds was covered with snow and slush, and yet there was a man in a wheelchair struggling to roll his wheelchair 100 yards over to the Holiday gas store to buy some items for home.
Schoolteacher Ann Lund, finished with her workout at Anytime Fitness, noticed the gentleman and asked if he wanted some help. He said yes, he’d appreciate it.
She started pushing him through the slush–not an easy task, especially since she had no hat or gloves and was wearing tennis shoes.
Moments later, a car pulled up to them. Two teenagers. One leaned out the window and said, “We can help him if you want to get back in your car.”
“I’d appreciate it,” Lund replied.
“Thanks,” added the man in the wheelchair. “I’m going over to Holiday and then I’ve got to go home. I live two blocks away.”
One of the teens got out and pushed him to Holiday while the other drove. And then, as far as Lund could tell, they waited for the man in the wheelchair and then got him home through the ice, the snow, the slush, and the dark.
Teenagers. Good Samaritans. Maybe there’s hope for this world.