BY SAM SCHAFFER
Sorting out the details
Looking ahead
Firefly is preparing other missions for the next two years, including Alpha FLTA006, which will be the first of 25 contracted launches for [defense and aerospace manufacturer] Lockheed Martin. ElementUSA Accelerator aims to eventually refine the extraction process for removing minerals from 30 million tons of waste the company has rights to in Louisiana, Byrne said. Jackson said bringing in these kinds of industry-leading businesses starts at
Businesses in Cedar Park are making waves beyond the boundaries of the city, including in outer space. Firefly currently has a mission underway to land on the moon and conduct experiments for NASA. Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 15, according to Firefly’s website. NASA is paying Firefly $101.5 million to deliver instruments to the surface of the moon, Schnautz said. If successful, Firefly will become the first pri- vate company to successfully land on the moon, a goal the company expects to accomplish by March
2, according to its website. ElementUSA also aims to be a primary jobs creator in the area. The company signed a lease to operate at 1200 BMC Drive beginning Feb. 1 and began building out the facility immediately, Byrne said. Byrne said the U.S. is short on important materi- als crucial to modern technology, and it’s better for the environment to recycle waste materials rather than dig new mines. ElementUSA Accelerator expects to be fully operational by the end of summer 2025.
the local government level. “You have to be focused on
everything, and that’s down to your parks, your recreation, your hiking and biking trails, which a lot of young talent wants to see,” he said.
Key instruments Materials refined by Element USA can be found in several components including:
Electric cars
Computer chips
Superconductors
Steel
Cellphones
SOURCE: ELEMENTUSA/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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