By John LaForge
A loonie project dubbed “Space Port” is being promoted for the south shore of Lake Superior, the top of the chain of Great Lakes relied upon for drinking water by 40 million people. A group called Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association (MAMA) is pushing a rocket launching facility, and is eyeing a spot north of Marquette, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (http://www.michman.org/Michigan-Launch-Initiative). To promote its Michigan Launch Initiative, MAMA has held four “Space Summits” that have featured such well-connected rocket boosters as US Army Lt. Gen. Jos Kellogg (Ret.), Lockheed Martin’s Stacey DeFore, Lt. Gen. Nina Armagnoa of US Space Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, Virgin Orbit, something called “SpaceFund,” Orbion Space Tech., and US Air Force Lt. Gen. David Buck (Ret.). MAMA’s website says it has identified “Loma Farms … as the vertical launch site.” Granot Loma as it’s formally known is a picturesque estate listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Critics with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition and Citizens for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior are fighting any such use of Michigan’s pristine coast because “such an intensely industrial use would damage the ecosystem, endanger public safety, harm the regional recreation-based economy, and severely degrade the quality of life … near Lake Superior’s beautiful south shore.” They report in the newsletter “UPEnvironment” that MAMA has not yet begun its license application for the proposed “vertical launch site” at Granot Loma, so there’s still time to scrap the idiocy. The groups have produced great educational material and even a musical anthem.
— Get information and sign their petition here: https://citizensforasafeandcleanlakesuperior.org/petition/
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