Big night for Blue Origin.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is finally ready to fly. Early Friday morning (1AM to be exact) the massive new rocket will attempt its first flight. Before you set an alarm to wake you for the event, keep in mind that as with any debut rocket launch, it might be delayed. The launch window extends to 4AM Friday. Check with our news partner, Florida Today, for updates. The 45th Weather Squadron predicts a greater than 95% chance of favorable conditions. But rough seas offshore may prevent a successful landing of the rocket’s first stage on the recovery barge.
The heavy-lift New Glenn is roughly comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, designed for sending larger payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. It will lift off from launch complex 36 at the southern tip of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Later Friday morning, look for a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch on another Starlink mission from Kennedy Space Center. That launch window opens at 10:27AM Friday.
Melbourne Mayor wants to stop fluoride water treatment.
Another Brevard City is considering ending fluoridation of its drinking water. Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey plans to propose at Tuesday's City Council meeting that the city stop adding fluoride to its water. Melbourne provides drinking water not only for its own residents, but also for Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Satellite Beach, West Melbourne and unincorporated areas of Brevard County south of the Pineda Causeway. Alfrey’s proposal follows a unanimous vote last week by the Palm Bay City Council to abandon efforts to repair that city's water fluoridation equipment. Supporters of adding fluoride to water say drinking fluoridated water helps keep teeth strong and reduces cavities. Detractors say it should be up to individual families whether they want to ingest water that has added fluoride.
DeSantis wants NASA to move HQ to Brevard.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would like to see NASA move its headquarters to Brevard County. DeSantis was speaking at Kennedy Space Center yesterday. He said instead of constructing a new headquarters building in Washington, NASA should relocate to the Space Coast. DeSantis was at KSC for the launch of the Florida University Space Research Consortium , a partnership between KSC, the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In an email to Florida Today, Florida Tech President John Nicklow said the university looks forward to exploring opportunities to partner with this new consortium.
Matt Gaetz considers running for Governor.
Matt Gaetz, the former US representative, may not be done with politics. Just weeks after the release of a report on sexual misconduct allegations against him, Gaetz told the Tampa Bay Times he was considering running for Florida Governor. Gaetz claims he knows how to fix Florida’s property insurance crisis. But with the election 22 months away, he said he needs more time to pray about whether to seek Florida’s highest office.
Florida leads nation in Obamacare signups.
One again, Florida is leading the nation in Obamacare enrollments. More than 4.6 million Floridians have signed up an Obamacare health insurance plan through the “Marketplace." Open enrollment for 2025 continues through Jan. 15. Insurance takes effect Feb. 1 for people who enroll in January.
