Marshall Space Flight Center

Colorado officials filed a lawsuit claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump's desire to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system. The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.

Jimmy Wales, of Huntsville, is the founder of the online website Wikipedia. He also just authored his first book, “The Seven Rules of Trust,” which will available in bookstores starting tomorrow. It’s based on his work to establish the internet encyclopedia, which is reportedly visited by a billion people every month.

The State of Alabama says over thirteen thousand members of the U.S. military are stationed in Alabama. When family members factored in, that number reportedly increases to fifty five thousand. And, that doesn’t count the estimated twenty six thousand servicemen and woman in the Alabama National Guard. All are waiting on Wednesday when the Pentagon is supposed to issue paychecks.

President Donald Trump announced that U.S. Space Command will be located in Alabama, reversing a Biden-era decision to keep it at its temporary headquarters in Colorado. The long-expected decision from Trump caps a four-year tug of war between two states and opposing administrations about where to locate U.S. Space Command

The Trump administration reportedly wants to cancel a collection of science missions at NASA. One, whose development and operation is based at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, appears to be one rallying point for NASA workers planning on staging a protest over federal budget cuts. The demonstration is set to take place on what’s known as “Moon Day” on July 20th, when the agency celebrates the landing astronauts on the moon during Apollo 11 in 1969.

It was sixty years ago this month when NASA astronaut Ed White opened the hatch on his two-man Gemini space capsule and floated outside on the first “spacewalk” which lasted about twenty-three minutes. The U.S. record for the longest spacewalk is jointly held by retired Astronaut Jim Voss, of Opelika. He floated outside ISS for close to nine hours. Voss will be my guest on an upcoming edition of "APR Notebook."

Billionaire Elon Musk said, in response to Trump threatening to cancel his company’s government contracts, he will immediately begin decommissioning the SpaceX Dragon. The rocket that brought two stranded NASA astronauts back to earth is also the only U.S. rocket that can carry crews to and from the International Space Station. Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages science on the outpost.

An aerospace contractor that builds rockets here in Alabama is gearing up for a historic blastoff maybe next month. United Launch Alliance is working with another company that wants to send a small version of NASA’s space shuttle on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Published reports indicate there may have been a reprieve at NASA. Probationary workers, including those at Alabama’s Marshall Space Center, were bracing for job cuts. The websites ARS Technica and NASA watch say mass firings have not yet occurred and there’s no clear reason for the delay.

Boeing's beleaguered space capsule left the International Space Station at about 5 pm central time, without its astronaut crew. NASA's two test pilots stayed behind at the space station as the Starliner capsule undocked Friday and aimed for a touchdown in New Mexico. Its exit follows months of turmoil over its safety. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams travelled to orbit aboard an Alabama built Atlas-V rocket. APR News Director Pat Duggins joined CBS News anchor Lana Zak for national coverage of the first phase of Starliner’s return to Earth—the undocking of the capsule from the International Space Station.