🔒Maine Space Corp. tech hub opens in Brunswick

The Maine Space Corp. opened its space systems qualification and training facility at Brunswick Landing.

The 1,300-square-foot Maine Space Tech Hub, at 112 Orion St., is equipped with shock, vibration and environmental testing systems, an electronics diagnostics bench and a dedicated collaboration space.

The goal is to help manufacturers, researchers, students and emerging space professionals elevate ground-based technologies to space-ready standards.

The Maine Space Corp. is a federally recognized nonprofit established in 2022 to foster opportunities in the space industry for Maine companies and help create a STEM-prepared workforce and jobs, said John Karp, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The nonprofit has offices at Brunswick Landing’s TechPlace and Hangar 5, plus office and meeting spaces at Maine Technology Institute in Portland.

Over 90 companies in Maine make parts and systems for the space industry. Karp said examples include Skowhegan plastic fabrication company Genplex Inc., the Caribou division of U.K-based Porvair Filtration Group and Fiber Materials Inc. in Biddeford.

“It is our job to facilitate collaborations through all of these companies in both marketing worldwide as well as collaborative resources to take on greater projects than individual companies might otherwise,” said Karp.

A total of $3.5 million has been invested to date to build out the lab, dubbed SpaceTech. A key corporate partner is $5.5 billion global tech company Teledyne Technologies Inc., which opened an office at Brunswick Landing in 2024 with an eye toward participating in the state’s commercial space industry and the nascent Maine Space Complex.

Public support has come from the Maine Technology Institute, the Maine Space Grant Consortium, the state of Maine and the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.

Vibration shaker

SpaceTech includes a lab and collaboration hub supporting aerospace and adjacent sectors.

Capabilities include qualification of electronics, hardware and other innovations for space applications; prototyping and advanced materials research; reliability testing for consumer and industrial products; and academic research and STEM education.

For testing, the facility has about $250,000 in equipment designed to simulate the extreme conditions of launch, transport and operational environments.

“It’s a capability that’s unique in Maine,” said Karp.

An electrodynamic vibration shaker replicates the intense vibration profiles during rocket launches and transportation and has other business applications, such as car suppliers testing components for road vibrations.

A shock testing machine simulates high-impact shock events such as rocket stage separation, with additional applications such as medical device companies, ensuring the reliability of sensitive instruments.

A testing and humidity chamber simulates extreme environmental conditions to test durability. The facility has specialized electrostatic discharge-protected workbenches that prevent the buildup and sudden release of static electricity, which can damage delicate instruments.

The next piece of equipment to be added is expected to be a vacuum thermal chamber, which creates a vacuum atmosphere that simulates space and can cycle through high and low temperatures.

The lab opened about a month ago with two classes of engineer training on tap and tests for a high-performance camera.

“This is just the beginning,” said Karp.