In Maine, geography shapes destiny
Photo / COURTESY OF BLUSHIFT AEROSPACE
A rocket engine performance test on bluShift Aerospace’s vertical test stand in Brunswick.
Stuck at the extreme upper-right corner of the U.S., Maine is a geographically unique state. It’s the only of the continental 48 that borders just one other state.
Historically, qualities like this have helped foster Maine’s success in many transportation-related sectors, from international trade to aerospace.
Active seaports have dotted the Maine coast almost since Europeans first settled there in the 17th century. In more recent but pre-pandemic years, hundreds of cruise ships have called on Bar Harbor and Portland. Portland is also the East Coast’s second-largest oil port and home to a growing container shipping industry, since an Icelandic line, Eimskip, moved its primary U.S. port there in 2013.
When it comes to air transportation, Bangor International is a key port — and because of its location serves as a stop for dozens of diverted transatlantic flights each year. BGR was even an emergency landing strip for the Space Shuttle.
Likewise, in 1962, the town of Andover housed the antenna base for the world’s first transcontinental communications satellite, Telstar 1. Today, Maine continues that heritage with companies such as bluShift Aerospace, which builds rocket engines in Brunswick for NASA.
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