PORTLAND, Maine — Representatives of a Maine company that plans to send small satellites into space from the most rural northeastern state said they will begin launches next year.
Brunswick-based BluShift Aerospace hopes to turn Maine into a hub for commercial nanosatellite launches and has been making progress toward that goal for more than three years. A successful recent round of fundraising means the commercial suborbital launch is on track to begin in 2025, company officials said Tuesday.
The small satellite market currently relies on large companies, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to deploy satellites, and that leads to long wait times, said bluShift CEO and founder Sascha Deri. Launching small satellites from Maine could change that, Deri said.
“We see a great need for dedicated satellite launches with small space elevators,” said Deri, adding that customers “are looking for fast, affordable access to space and direct delivery to their desired orbit “.
The company’s progress in launching small satellites comes at a time of tremendous growth in the industry, company representatives said.
The concept of small satellites was essentially an academic exercise two decades ago, and since then the technology has become one of the fastest growing in the satellite industry, bluShift representatives said. The worldwide market for a class of small satellites called CubeSats was estimated at $210 million in 2021 and is expected to be worth more than four times that by 2030, the company said.
BluShift plans to use an existing spaceport for initial launches and begin using the rural, remote coastline in Downeast Maine as a home base for launches as early as 2026, company officials said. The company said it thinks the rural coast is a good location because it offers launch opportunities over the Atlantic Ocean directly into polar orbit with little interference.
The company launched a 20-foot (6-meter) prototype rocket to an altitude of more than 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) in its first test in 2021. The rocket simulated a small payload carrying stroopwafels, Dutch cookies.
BluShift also said Tuesday that Brady Brim-DeForest, managing partner at Late Stage Capital of Houston, will become chairman of the board of directors. Brim-DeForest said the company’s use of non-toxic biofuels and reusable rockets will help in its mission to “democratize access to orbit.”
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