Aerospace

“New Space” is a fast-growing market, and Maine industries, from agriculture and forestry to aquaculture and fisheries, can improve their competitiveness using satellite data and other

remote services. Maine has the research, education, and physical assets to excel in launching low-cost small satellites using small, low-cost launch vehicles .

  • Goal 1: Research Objective
    Prioritize aerospace research in six areas:
    • satellite-generated “big data” analytics and management
    • quantum computing and storage
    • navigation, tracking, and communication
    • satellite and small launch vehicle manufacturing
    • satellite and constellation design
    • geospatial informatics and remote sensing.
  • Goal 2: Enterprise Objective
    Catalyze the development of an entrepreneurial space industry with a local supply chain, and provide data to support Maine’s heritage industries.
  • Goal 3: Workforce Objective
    Create training programs in advanced materials and other “new space” topics, and promote STEM curriculum at all levels, from computer science in PreK-12 to advanced mathematics doctoral programs.
  • Goal 4: Climate Change Objective
    Advance the use of the Maine Space Complex to monitor the impact of climate change and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Identify products and practices that reduce the carbon impact of Maine’s emerging aerospace industry.

“New Space” Economy

Historically, space has been the domain of large government-funded projects executed by a handful of aerospace and defense contractors. Over the past two decades, this paradigm has shifted, and the commercial industry now launches more satellites than government . Evolving hardware and software have significantly increased performance and reduced the cost and size of spacecraft development. This evolution has unlocked the value of creating smaller satellites and corresponding micro launch vehicles, reducing the cost of launching payloads into space. This new cost-effective technology has, in turn, lowered barriers to entry, attracting a wave of commercial participants into the industry, spurring innovation, and attracting private capital to finance research and development. “New Space” is one of the fastest- growing, high-tech future-forward industries emerging this century . Small satellites such as CubeSats that are the size of a bread loaf are among the fastest growing and most dynamic aerospace markets, attracting a high level of venture capital and federal attention. This market was valued at $4 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow to $25 billion by 2030.

Maine’s “New Space” Assets

Maine has the assets to capture a meaningful share of the growing global new space economy and the small-satellite market. Its geographic location allows for the safe launch of satellites into polar orbit without endangering population centers, and its former military bases are unique physical assets. Building on these, Maine has R&D, education, and physical assets at UMaine, USM, the Roux Institute, and other institutions; proximity to academic and business centers in the Northeast region; aerospace and manufacturing supply chains; and companies directly involved in space exploration and development such as VALT Enterprises, blueshift Aerospace, and Fiber Materials.

Maine Space Complex

In April 2022, the Legislature enacted and the Governor signed into law a bill to establish the Maine Space Corporation, a quasi-state body to manage the development and growth of the geographically distributed, shared-resource based, Maine Space Complex as the aspiring vision for a coordinated effort to leverage these assets, build capability and facilitate growth throughout the new space economy value chain. Maine is now positioned to become a leader in the emerging and fast-growing market of launching low-cost small satellites into polar orbits using small, low-cost launch vehicles.

The three business units of the Maine Space Complex are:

  • Maine Space Data & Advanced Analytics Center. The Space Data & Advanced Analytics Center will be a cloud-based, digital platform resourced to import/downlink, store, cleanse, manage, and analyze satellite data in concert with terrestrial data to solve local business public policy issues in innovative ways. This will be a distributed network of nodes, offering portals from various locations (e.g. Roux Institute, University of Maine, Governor’s Office, etc.) to access satellite data (and other relevant data sets) for data science applications, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. It will be resourced with human capital that can specialize in satellite data and advanced analytics to drive the application of data toward the advancement of local industry and policy use cases, and provide support and mentorship to data-centric start-ups and companies. It will require a cloud configuration with a network equipped with the hardware and software to import/downlink, store, cleanse, manage, and analyze satellite data in concert with terrestrial data to solve business and public issues in innovative ways and support the development of data-focused start-ups creating new data products and services .
  • Maine New Space Innovation Hub. To be located at Brunswick Landing, with a spoke at Loring Commerce Centre, the Hub is envisioned as a knowledge and innovation hub for new business incubation and acceleration, hardware and materials component development facilities, and satellite and launch vehicle manufacturing and testing. The shared space will contain specialized equipment to facilitate R&D, academic and scientific inquiry. It will also house joint academic-industry research initiatives, an office of tech transfer, administrative office space for businesses, and conference facilities to host national/international events to draw users and attention to the Maine space industry. It will also act as an educational center providing classrooms for in-person and remote PreK-12 and higher education learning opportunities and events .
  • Maine Launch Sites and Services. This unit will include both vertical launches at one or more sites along the coast of Maine, as well as horizontal launch capabilities from aircrafts that leverage the long runways at Brunswick Landing and Loring Commerce Centre . Both launch venues will be low-cost and provide accessibility to low Earth orbit polar orbit launch site for small satellites with superior customer service to serve the commercial, academic/scientific, and government sectors . The sites will create a need for credentialed and highly skilled technical jobs, and offer workforce retraining opportunities. Launch capabilities will spur the development of a knowledge cluster, creating a foothold to capture prospects as the industry matures and develops. The sites will also leverage Maine’s current rocketry, data, and geospatial analytics capabilities to become a more visible national and international aerospace industry destination .

The Maine Space Complex is about more than simply launching small satellites on small rockets. It is about engaging students, researchers, businesses, state and local governments, and communities across the three segments of the new space economy value chain, and the underlying infrastructure needed to support these segments. The upstream segment is research, manufacturing, and ground systems; all include basic and applied research activities, scientific and engineering support activities, materials and components supply, manufacturing of space systems, subsystems, equipment, telemetry, tracking, and command stations . The downstream segment is space operations for terrestrial use and products and services which rely on satellite technology, signal, data to function (e.g., satellite broadcasting, selected GIS, Global navigation satellite system- enabled devices). The space-related segment includes space applications, products, and services from spin-offs or technology transfer from the space sector, that use satellite technology, but do not
depend on it.

Notable Maine Institutions & Organizations

  • Educate Maine
  • Loring Commerce Centre
  • Maine Composites Alliance
  • Maine Department of Transportation
  • Maine International Trade Center
  • Maine Space Corporation
  • Maine Space Grant Consortium
  • Manufacturers Association of Maine
  • Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority
  • The Roux Institute at Northeastern University
  • University of Maine
  • University of Southern Maine

Economic Impact

A 2022 economic impact analysis of the Complex by the University of Southern Maine’s Center for Business and Economic Research based on four revenue and market share scenarios, and forecasts for space complex business components, and using an economic model developed by Regional Economic Models Incorporated (REMI), projected that a new space economy in Maine could contribute:

  • Between $550 million and $1.1 billion per year to the state GDP by 2042 (in 2022 dollars),
  • Between 2,800 and 5,500 well-paying jobs annually by 2042, and
  • A significant source of new tax revenues across the state .

These simulations represent the potential impacts of a new space economy that emerges in line with market forecasts and according to the various scenarios simulated in the analysis .

References

Maine Space Grant Consortium, 2022, “Maine Space Complex Strategic Plan: Why Maine?… Why Not Maine?” Maine Space Grant Consortium.

Wallace, R., 2022, “The Economic Potential of a Space Complex and New Space Economy in Maine,” Center of Business and Economic Research, University of Southern Maine.