State launches space initiative

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Mississippi is starting a new economic development effort to lure companies connected to space exploration. The announcement came less than a month after California-based Relativity announced it would build its Terran 1 space rockets using 3D print technology at Stennis Space Center, where it has already been testing rocket engines. Gov. Phil Bryant announced the Space Initiative Monday during an event at Infinity Science Center, near Stennis Space Center in coastal Hancock County. SSC is where NASA and many commercial space companies test rocket engines. The leader of the economic development effort will be Patrick Scheuermann, former head of Stennis Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. Bryant also announced formation of a Mississippi National Guard Space Directorate. Its commander will be Col. Billy Murphy of the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 186th Air Operations Group. Relativity co-founder Jordan Noone was on hand for the Monday announcement. (Sources: multiple, including Sun Herald, Clarion Ledger, AP via Local Memphis, WLOX, 07/01/19) Previous related