MAMA to announce command and control center site in January

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WLUC) - The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association will announce the findings of its site-selection process for a new command and control center in January 2021.

MAMA previously said the announcement would come in December. It will be the third and final announcement in a year-long selection process that identified Oscoda in February as the horizontal space launch site and the Marquette area in July as the vertical space launch site in Michigan. MAMA says nearly a dozen sites throughout the state have been considered for the command and control center, including Sawyer International Airport and Chippewa County International Airport.

MAMA says site selection is based on many factors, including existing commercial and public infrastructure, geographic and terrestrial mapping, living standards and workforce development. The selection process has been led by spaceport consultants BRPH and Kimley-Horn. As development on all sites commences, MAMA says it will conduct extensive environmental studies and work with consultants to address community concerns.

Powell and Marquette Township residents have formed a nonprofit organization that opposes the planned Granot Loma vertical rocket launch site.