Brevard County under a burn ban.
Brevard County commissioners voted yesterday to enact a county-wide burn ban. Due to ongoing dry weather conditions, the County is at an increased risk for wildfires. So bonfires, campfires, trash burning and other outdoor incineration is illegal effective immediately.
Rocket rumble early Thursday.
NASA’s mission to send a crew to the space station is tentatively scheduled for early Friday morning, if winds and waves in the Atlantic die down. Liftoff Friday is set for 5:15AM. Expect a sonic boom as the first stage lands back on the Cape.
In the meantime, ULA will send a national security payload to orbit early Thursday morning. The two-hour launch window for the Vulcan rocket opens at 3:30AM.
ULA said yesterday it plans on increasing the number of launches of the Vulcan rocket this year. It has flown only three times since early 2024. It would like to up that number to 18 flights this year.
Musk's dream of colonizing Mars takes detour.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is putting his dream of colonizing Mars on hold. Instead, the rocket company will use its Starship rocket to establish a lunar city. Musk said the reason for the delay is it’s only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months, whereas he can launch to the Moon every 10 days.
Florida emergency management spends $405 million in six months.
Florida’s emergency management agency spent more than $400 million on immigration tasks in just six months. According to state spending records, that includes law enforcement, porta-potties, and private jet flights. Florida is still waiting for the Trump administration to provide the promised $608 million in reimbursement for immigration enforcement.
Anti-immigrant legislation advanced in the Florida legislature yesterday. The bill would ban non-English-language driver tests, and penalize employers of undocumented workers. It passed its first Florida House committee yesterday. A Senate version of the bill is yet to be heard.
Major flushing in Melbourne.
If you see water gushing from a fire hydrant in Melbourne, it’s not a major leak. It’s the bi-annual fire hydrant maintenance program. Each of the city’s 5,000 fire hydrants will be flushed for about 15 minutes. The process will take up to six months until all hydrants have been checked.
Federal space workforce shrunk.
In 2025, more than a third-of-a-million civil servants were cut from the federal workforce. And at least 5,000 of them were part of the federal space workforce. Some were senior executives with decades of experience in space-related projects. Others were younger staffers whose posts were eliminated or who sought opportunities in the private sector. About 20% of NASA employees left the agency.
EFSC gives free dental checkup.
As part of the national 'Give Kids a Smile' event, free dental care was recently provided to 75 children at Eastern Florida State College. WFIT’s Terri Wright has details.
On Feb. 7, volunteers from Brevard County Dental Society provided children with free dental exams, cleanings, sealants, and oral hygiene instruction.
EFSC’s dental program already offers affordable preventive care for children and seniors, but its current facility is too small to meet community demand and student training needs. The planned expansion aims to better serve patients while preparing more dental professionals in a growing career field.
