A coalition of businesses, universities, and state leaders aims to position Central Kentucky as a hub for commercial space research, manufacturing, and innovation
Space Tango oversees its space-related research projects from its mission operations center in Lexington. Thanks in part to a recent $7.4 million investment, the company is expanding and relocating its headquarters to Greyline Station. Photo courtesy of Space Tango
Under the newly formed Kentucky Space Futures Initiative, a Central Kentucky-led coalition is working to position the region as a hub for the fast-growing commercial space economy. By combining strengths in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, logistics, artificial intelligence, and university research, state leaders believe Kentucky can compete for a share of an industry projected to reach $1.8 trillion by the mid-2030s, according to analysis from McKinsey & Company.
With support from the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation, investors, several layers of state government, researchers at the University of Kentucky, Morehead State, and other state universities, plus the emergence of Lexington-based manufacturer Space Tango, Kentucky is pushing into the zero-gravity space landscape.
“We want to inform people about the very large ecosystem here, and to bring awareness to this rapidly emerging economic and marketing opportunity, including the research,” said Kris Kimel, founder of the think-tank Humanity in Deep Space, former president of KSTC, and a co-founder of Space Tango.
Much of the economic value of space will not come from Kentucky launching rockets. Rather, it will come from companies designing software, autonomous systems, sensors, robotics, and manufacturing processes. These same technologies can have immediate applications in health care and pharmaceuticals, agriculture, defense, and energy. Kentucky wants to become the place where technologies developed for space become profitable on Earth.
“When you go into space, which is zero gravity, a lot of things are possible that you cannot do on Earth,” Kimel said. “There may be opportunities to create pharmaceuticals in space for Earth. Space Tango, for example, is involved in work with tiny retinal implants that could help greatly improve the treatment of retinal diseases. But it must be manufactured in space. On Earth, gravity would distort the processes.”
Space Tango has supported more than 40 space missions and over 300 research experiments, including serving as the only biomedical company aboard Artemis II. Photo courtesy of Space Tango
Space Tango has emerged as one of Kentucky’s leading commercial space companies. The company has supported more than 40 space missions and over 300 research experiments, including being the only biomedical company aboard Artemis II, whose crew traveled around the moon and back this past April. Space Tango’s president and co-founder is Twyman Clements.
“We enable researching and manufacturing in micro-space,” Clements said. “Many space flights involve exploring space or observing planets. What we do is help researchers, who have matured into businesses, to utilize zero-gravity for their needs. In space you don’t have gravity, buoyancy in liquids, conductive heat flow, density settling, certain pressures, and so on. Our customers are trying to see if they can create a better product up there. It’s about making things and processes that you cannot make on Earth.”
Among the projects supported by Space Tango are studies of human aging, stem-cell manufacturing, cancer biology, and astronaut health. “You are regularly flying raw materials to space, running a process in zero gravity, and bringing back an end product or process that hopefully is worth considerably more than before it went into space,” Clements said.
As a sign of its success so far, Space Tango is moving into new headquarters at Greyline Station on Louden Avenue in Lexington, where it will lease space and develop more projects. The phased expansion includes mission operations space, engineering offices, machine shops, biological and electrical laboratories, testing facilities, and collaborative work areas.
The $7.4 million investment, approved by the state legislature, will create at least 25 jobs, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. “Kentucky’s technology and aerospace industries have seen tremendous growth in recent years because of our highly skilled workforce, access to resources, and local and state collaboration,” Beshear said. “Kentucky-based companies like Space Tango are driving investment and creating good-paying jobs in our communities.”
Lexington mayor Linda Gorton says the city has long supported Space Tango. “Lexington saw the potential of Space Tango many years ago and supported it through our local incentive Jobs Funds program,” she said.
“As the space economy continues to commercialize, we are building Space Tango to further our leadership position in enabling research and manufacturing in microgravity,” added Clements.
Kimel agrees that university research for the space economy is “exploding right now.” Kimel points to the rapid growth of SpaceX, increasing number of rocket launches, and long-term NASA and commercial plans for lunar infrastructure as evidence that demand for space-based research and manufacturing will continue to expand.
Kentucky’s strategy increasingly focuses on commercial in-space manufacturing, and this area could expand significantly as commercial space stations replace the International Space Station during the 2030s.
Kentucky already has a sizable aerospace manufacturing base producing precision-machined components, electronics, composites, aircraft systems, and defense products. Many of those manufacturers can also serve commercial space companies. As demand grows from companies building satellites, lunar hardware, and commercial space stations, Kentucky manufacturers could become more integrated into national space supply chains.
In addition, university-level research — especially from the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville — will play larger roles in areas like biomedical research, materials science, robotics, autonomous systems, and AI applications for spacecraft. Most are areas where microgravity can produce unique and beneficial scientific results.
Space Tango’s Clements thinks there will be acceleration in the state in the areas of space biomedical research, manufacturing and commercialization, all for applications here on Earth and for human health in space. “The space industry here has not exploded. It was 20 years in the making, a slow build. Now we all must create a good environment for new companies, a solid workforce, and industrial base.”
Much of the economic value of space will not come from Kentucky launching rockets, officials say, but rather from companies designing software, autonomous systems, sensors, robotics and manufacturing processes. Photo courtesy of Space Tango