Limestone

Lower logistics and construction costs may help bluShift provide competitive pricing in a crowded market, the company says. Customers will be able to schedule launches rather than hitch rides on larger vehicles.

As Brunswick-based bluShift nears its crowd equity funding milestone of $500,000, development continues on the startup's bio-fueled engine. Options are cropping up for a remote coastal site that would accommodate launches over the ocean.

Brunswick manufacturer bluShift Aerospace launched its first rocket prototype in January and recently opened a crowd equity funding campaign for further rocket development.

A bill that passed out of committee would move up an annual allocation of funds for the business and industrial park, which has been affected by the current economic downturn.

The successful launch positions bluShift to build subsequent rockets for suborbital and orbital space, to serve as vehicles for the growing nanosatellite industry. A proprietary biofuel uses materials that can be grown on farms.

The countdown was underway Friday for the launch of the world's first commercial rocket powered by biofuel, set to take off from Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone. 

Recipients include Brunswick-based STARC Systems, which was awarded $307,500 towards a $4.57 million project to invest in automated equipment for infection isolation solutions to help stop the spread of COVID-19 within hospitals.

Border restrictions between the U.S. and Canada, which may soon be renewed, don't apply to most commercial traffic and returning citizens. Nevertheless, travel into Maine fell over 40% in the first month of the pandemic.

Loring Industries laid off six employees last week due to a seasonal downtown, leaving the Limestone company with a workforce of about 12 employees.

The Limestone Development Foundation is sponsoring a workshop in the central Aroostook area for companies interested in expanding their business with federal, state and local agencies.