Last month, I had the opportunity to tour VALT Enterprize’s facilities in Presque Isle. During our tour, technicians and engineers could be seen operating advanced manufacturing equipment in preparation for upcoming rocket tests.
VALT launches rockets into space to gather data and push the barriers of hypersonic satellite delivery systems. I found it hard to believe that this innovative aerospace work is happening right here, right now, in Presque Isle of all places.
Before taking the tour, I had a vague idea about VALT’s work, but the idea of Presque Isle as a hub for space research seemed farfetched. Seeing the operation in person changed my mind.
VALT will tell you themselves: The unique qualities of Presque Isle and the surrounding natural resources of Aroostook County make it an optimal base for aerospace operations. For example, Presque Isle offers access to the 3.5 million acres of undeveloped woodlands in the North Maine Woods for temporary launch sites. Similarly unique regional characteristics have led to the development of space hubs in other places off the beaten path, such as in California’s Mojave Desert, home of the Mojave Air and Space Port.
In 2022, Presque Isle Airport Director Scott Wardwell announced plans to set aside a portion of the city’s airport-adjacent land to serve as the Presque Isle Aerospace Research Park, with VALT Enterprizes as the park’s first tenant. Looking back 20 years from now, this bold announcement may be considered visionary for its time.
With existing airport infrastructure, available commercial property and the city’s support, the Aerospace Research Center represents new commercial opportunities in the region. Even without additional tenants, the expansion of VALT alone — which is planning an additional 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility — changes the landscape of business in northern Maine.
These opportunities are compounded by Presque Isle’s proximity to the Loring Commerce Center on the former Loring Air Force Base, located only 22 miles north. With additional aerospace infrastructure, that area is also well-suited for the space industry.
VALT’s co-founders, Karl Hoose and Elise McGill, frame the region’s unique properties as a distinct competitive advantage. While existing spaceports in Cape Canaveral, Florida, or Dallas, Texas cater to industry juggernauts (such as Boeing and SpaceX), new market dynamics are catching these giants flat-footed.
Emerging markets like hypersonic research and suborbital satellite delivery demand more agile operations that large companies cannot accommodate due to immense overhead costs. Satellite technology is no longer only for global telecom companies and the federal government; many small and mid-sized organizations are seeking to access space for a variety of reasons.
VALT’s work is getting noticed at the national level. In the June newsletter issued by the Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency, titled “Innovations,” the agency highlited VALT as a notable success story.
“The primary technological innovation is the use of reusable/recoverable low-cost components allowing for a launch cadence with minimal overhead compared to other hypersonic test platforms available to MDA,” stated the national newsletter. “This transition from a test platform to a potential program of record has provided the necessary interest and capital to pursue further development of the VALT system.”
I’ve lived in Aroostook County long enough to internalize some of the region’s skepticism about change and promises of a more prosperous economic future. Population and economic trends over the past 30 years have not been promising, and solutions have not easily come to fruition.
But we are positioned to be a player in a fast-growing industry. The region’s economic tentpoles — agriculture, forestry and wood/paper products, and tourism — compete for oxygen in mature global markets. These sectors are critical to our future, but they’re not growing enough to offset the economic damage caused by the 1994 closing of Loring or the challenges of one of the coldest, most geographically remote regions in the U.S. The aerospace industry is growing at a significantly higher rate than wood-product manufacturing or commercial agriculture.
Growing aerospace operations will introduce new (and familiar) challenges. These businesses depend on attracting skilled engineers and technicians, and collaborative public/private partnerships to grow. Embracing any emerging industry could change the character of our region.
Fortunately, I believe Aroostook County is capable of navigating these changes with grace while upholding the integrity of the place we cherish and call home. After enduring 30 years of forced self-reflection caused by circumstances beyond our control, it’s refreshing to learn that our most unique characteristics are not barriers to the future, but doorways.
Griffin Goins lives and works in Presque Isle.
