U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, says he sees a bright future ahead for NASA Plum Brook Station near Sandusky and NASA Glenn in Cleveland, and he’ll keep pushing NASA officials to protect Ohio’s interests.

“No one has been talking about the amazing work SpaceX has been doing at Plum Brook,” Brown told reporters in a telephone conference call Wednesday. “I’m very hopeful for the future.”

SpaceX, a private rocket firm, has been testing Falcon 9 payload fairings at the Space Power Facility, a huge vacuum chamber at NASA Plum Brook Station.