Local TPUSA chapter to host ‘The Fight for Space Command' at UAH theater
Members of the local chapter of Turning Point USA are set to host an informational session titled 'The Fight for Space Command' with Dylan Smith, District Director for U.S. Representative Dale Strong.
NASA to continue analyzing data after completion of Firefly's first moon mission
The session will be held at the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Charger Union Theater on Thursday, March 20, at 11 a.m.
At the session, the effort to get Space Command moved back to Huntsville, DOGE and its impact on our local economy will be discussed along with other questions raised by the audience.
Admission is free and open to the public, and there will be a Q&A session. Snacks will be provided at the event.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP here.
6 arrested in Franklin County for meth, various drugs during search
In November, state lawmakers were hopeful that the new presidential administration would bring Space Command to Huntsville, where it was voted to reside in 2022.
Huntsville was named a finalist in early 2021. Then, in 2022, the Department of Defense named the city as the 'preferred permanent location for U.S. Space Command headquarters.' The Rocket City finished first in both the Air Force's evaluation phase and the selection phase, while Colorado Springs finished fourth and fifth respectively.
In June 2023, a U.S. Space Command General reportedly confirmed to Alabama politicians in D.C. and the Alabama Delegation that the state is still 'the preferred location for SPACECOM headquarters.' However, come July 2023, the Pentagon released a statement that President Biden selected Colorado Springs as the permanent location for the U.S. Space Command Headquarters.
In September 2023, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the decision for Space Command about the decision to select Colorado Springs over Huntsville for the command headquarters.
Kentucky man charged with rape of 15-year-old to be held without bond following Aniah's Law hearing
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, the committee chairman, said the committee's investigation determined that the justification of concerns about 'operational readiness' as the basis for leaving the headquarters in Colorado is 'just fabricated.'
In February, the General Assembly of the State of Ohio sent a petition to the Senate Armed Services Committee 'urging the federal government to select Ohio for the permanent headquarters of the United States Space Command.' The General Assembly of the State of Ohio stated that the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton is 'uniquely situated' to help Space Command.
Because of this, the members of the 135th General Assembly of the State of Ohio are asking that the Senate pick Ohio as the new permanent home of Space Command since the government has not made a final decision on the final, permanent location.
In a 2023 plea to the federal government, Ohio State Representative Tom Patton said, 'Ohio is proud to be known as the 'birthplace of aviation.''
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Firefly Aerospace eyes Japan rocket launches for Asia market
By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Firefly Aerospace is exploring an option to launch its Alpha rocket from Japan as the U.S. rocket maker expands its satellite launch services globally, a Japanese company operating a spaceport in the country's northern Hokkaido said on Monday. The plan could make Japan the second offshore launch site - and first in Asia - for Firefly, the Texas-based rival to Elon Musk's market leader SpaceX, which had its Nasdaq debut earlier this month and is preparing for an Alpha launch in Sweden. Space Cotan, operator of the Hokkaido Spaceport located about 820 km (510 mi) northeast of Tokyo, said it and Firefly signed a preliminary agreement to study the feasibility of launching the small-lift rocket Alpha from there. Launching Alpha from Japan "would allow us to serve the larger satellite industry in Asia and add resiliency for U.S. allies with a proven orbital launch vehicle," Adam Oakes, Firefly's vice president of launch, said in a statement published on Space Cotan's website. A feasibility study would be conducted to assess the regulatory hurdles, timeframe and investments for a launch pad for Alpha in Hokkaido, said Space Cotan spokesperson Ryota Ito. The plan would require a space technology safeguards agreement (TSA) between Washington and Tokyo that would allow American rocket launches in Japan, Ito added. The governments last year kicked off the negotiations but have not reached an agreement. A U.S.-Sweden TSA signed in June cleared the path for Firefly's launches from the Arctic. Four of Firefly's six Alpha flights since 2021 have ended in failure, most recently in April. While Japan's national space agency has launched rockets for decades, private rockets are nascent and most Japanese satellite operators rely on foreign options such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Rocket Lab's Electron. Previously, U.S. company Virgin Orbit aimed to use Japan's southwest Oita Airport for launches but the plan was scrapped after the firm went bankrupt in 2023. Colorado-based Sierra Space has an ongoing plan to land its spaceplane on Oita beyond 2027. Taiwanese firm TiSpace last month conducted what could be the first foreign launch in Hokkaido, but the suborbital flight failed within a minute. Japan's government is targeting 30 launches of Japanese rockets a year by the early 2030s and subsidises domestic enterprises such as Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies.


CBS News
7 days ago
- CBS News
Colorado Chamber of Commerce hosts rare gathering with the state's entire House congressional delegation
For perhaps the first time ever, all eight U.S. Representatives from Colorado -- four Democrats and four Republicans -- came together in Denver for a unique event hosted by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. The members sat side by side and talked about how they're working hand in hand for Colorado to, among other things, secure more firefighting aircraft, keep U.S. Space Command here, and regulate artificial intelligence. "We need to provide a regulatory framework at the federal level," said Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who represents Congressional District 7. "We know a patchwork approach is impossible for companies to navigate." The event focused on business issues. The delegation -- which hosts regular bipartisan breakfast meetings -- agreed that the federal government needs to do more to reduce red tape and lower the cost of living. They disagreed on whether the Trump administration is making Coloradans' lives better or worse. "Trump's mega bill is going to be really devastating for a lot of people in the state," said Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who represents District 6. "There are seven hospitals that are at severe risk of going under and closing their doors as a result of this bill, three of which might go under in the next year." His remarks struck a nerve with 3rd Congressional District Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, who said, "I don't think that's a fair statement. We're talking about the provider fee decrease of one-half of 1%. That starts in fiscal year 2028. That's several years down the road. The work requirements with respect to Medicaid don't happen until April of 2027. There's time for us to get this right." Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who represents District 8, hailed the "Big Beautiful Bill's" expansion of affordable housing tax credits: "This is estimated to bring thousands of different low-income and rental housing units. I think the number for Colorado is just over 30,000 units." Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, who represents District 2, condemned the bill's changes to energy policies, including rolling back many renewable energy tax credits: "I think it's going to have a devastating impact in terms of domestic alternative sources of energy production." Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who represents District 4, countered that the bill levels the playing field for all forms of energy: "I do want an 'all of the above' energy approach, but I do not want your tax dollars funding one side of it." The two sides also disagreed on President Trump's trade policies. Republican Rep. Jeff Crank, of Colorado's 5th Congressional District, says he supports short-term increases in tariffs: "I do believe this president has very effectively used tariffs to get folks to the negotiating table and you can look at the EU agreement signed a little bit ago. That's a better deal for America." Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who represents District 1, responded to Crank's assertion with some good-natured ribbing: "I really want to thank Congressman Crank for explaining what the President's thought process was with these tariffs because most of us don't have any idea what he's been doing with imposing the tariffs, then taking them back."
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
Firefly Awarded $177 Million NASA Contract for Mission to the Moon's South Pole
Company's fourth lunar mission and fifth NASA CLPS award utilizes Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicle and Blue Ghost lunar lander to operate two rovers and three scientific instruments Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 4 - Lunar OrbitCEDAR PARK, Texas, July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Firefly Aerospace, a market leading space and defense technology company, was awarded a $176.7 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to deliver five NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moon's south pole in 2029. The mission will utilize Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicle and Blue Ghost lunar lander to enable payload operations that include evaluating the Moon's south pole resources, such as hydrogen, water, and other minerals, and studying the radiation and thermal environment that could affect future astronauts and lunar infrastructure. 'Firefly is honored to support another NASA CLPS task order as a proven, reliable partner for robotic missions to the Moon,' said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. 'Following our first Blue Ghost mission that made history just a few months ago, this bold Firefly team proved we have the right mix of grit, innovation, and dedication to not only stick the landing, but also complete all scientific objectives for our payload partners. We've set the bar high, and we aim to continue setting new records in our missions to come with our active production line of Blue Ghost landers.' During Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Firefly's Elytra Dark transfer vehicle will first deploy the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit and remain on orbit to provide a long-haul communications relay for the mission. Blue Ghost will then land in the Moon's south pole region, deploy the rovers, and enable payloads operations with data, power, and communications services for more than 12 days on the lunar surface. The NASA-sponsored payloads onboard Blue Ghost include two rovers – the MoonRanger rover and a Canadian Space Agency rover – as well as a Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS), a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), and the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS), which also flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1. These payloads will help uncover the composition and resources available at the Moon's south pole, advance lunar navigation, evaluate the chemical composition of lunar regolith, and further study the effects of a lander's plume on the Moon's surface during landings. Following Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Elytra Dark will remain operational in lunar orbit for more than five years in support of Firefly's Ocula lunar imaging service. The mission enables a third Elytra Dark in Firefly's growing constellation to provide customers with faster revisit times for lunar mapping, mission planning, situational awareness, and mineral detection services. The first two Elytra Dark vehicles will launch as part of Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the far side of the Moon in 2026 and Blue Ghost Mission 3 to the Gruithuisen Domes in 2028. 'Firefly's Elytra Dark spacecraft are great companions for Blue Ghost – they're highly maneuverable vehicles built with the same flight-proven components and propulsion system that successfully landed Blue Ghost on the Moon,' said Chris Clark, Vice President of Spacecraft. 'As our Elytra constellation continues to grow in lunar orbit, Firefly is in a unique position to provide lunar imaging services and a communications relay for missions anywhere on the Moon's surface. And with extra payload capacity on both Elytra and Blue Ghost, we invite additional government and commercial customers to join our fourth mission that's built upon the same reliable architecture and led by the same trusted team.' Customers interested in joining Blue Ghost Mission 4 can find more information at and those interested in Firefly's Ocula lunar imaging services can find more details at About Firefly AerospaceFirefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables government and commercial customers to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for responsive space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with approximately 24-hour notice. Firefly is also the only company to achieve a fully successful landing on the Moon. Established in 2017, Firefly's engineering, manufacturing, and test facilities are co-located in central Texas to enable rapid innovation. The company's small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles are built with common flight-proven technologies to enable speed, reliability, and cost efficiencies for each mission from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. For more information, visit Media Contactpress@ Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: