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V O L . X X V N O. V M A R C H 4 , 2 0 1 9 18 T wo startup manufacturers of small satel- lite launch vehicles have their sights set on a nanosatellite market that's literally taking off around the world. And the companies' founders and industry experts say Maine is ideally positioned to develop a share of that market. VALT Enterprises in Sanford and bluShift Aerospace, at Brunswick Landing, are developing small, low-cost launch vehicles to carry nanosatellites to orbital space. ey seek to leverage a growing interest in the use of the small, lightweight, inexpensive satel- lites to conduct a broad range of applications. Both aim to keep manufacturing and launch operations in Maine as part of a larger vision to fos- ter a Maine-based nanosatellite sector. "My dream is there's not only a Cape Canaveral of the future, but a Cape Cutler in Washington County," says Sascha Deri, founder of bluShift. VALT co-founders Karl Hoose and Elise McGill have conducted 22 test launches in the past decade from Downeast blueberry fields, chosen for their distance from large populations. ey expect their suborbital system to be operational within three years, with orbital operations ready in four. Nanosatellites, Hoose says, represent a unique opportunity in space flight. "e nanosatellite industry started small but has grown pretty big," he says. "Maine needs to be part of that." An inexpensive vehicle Nanosatellites are small satellites weighing up to a couple dozen pounds. Inexpensive to make, they carry electron- ics and sensors for a broad range of applications, primar- ily earth observation and communications. Nanosatellites add another tool for businesses and researchers, along- side GPS, drones and satellite images. Over 6,200 nanosatellites are expected to launch over the coming decade, according to Euroconsult. As a result, an industry to build small launch vehi- cles is also growing. To date, small satellites are carried into space on rideshare arrangements as secondary payloads on large rockets. Nanosatellite operators don't have a say over schedules or routes. "It's essentially like a bus and everyone on the bus is going to the same place," says Hoose. Seeking manufacturing's next frontier Makers of small launch vehicles target booming nanosatellite market B y L a u R i e s C h R e i B e R F O C U S C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 0 ยป C N C M AC H I N E TO O L S & S E RV I C E 3 D P R I N T I N G & S CA N N I N G WWW.NECNC.COM ( 2 07 ) 7 7 5 - 5 5 10 WWW.NE3D.NET ( 2 07 ) 7 7 5 - 5 5 10 Sascha Deri, founder of bluShift Aerospace at Brunswick Landing, is developing a small, low-cost launch vehicle to carry nanosatellites into orbit. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY