Under the familiar tones of famous science-fiction theme music, Presque Isle, Maine, took its next step on Aug. 8 toward becoming a national figure in the growing race to monetize outer space.
In a hangar along the Presque Isle International Airport runway, city and state officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for what eventually will become the 72-acre John F. Kennedy Aerospace Research Park.
"[This] really marks the effort to bring the new space economy to our great state," said Alan Lambert, Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) director of aviation, said during his remarks at the event.
It is an economy Lambert said could add more than $1 billion to Maine's gross domestic product (GDP).
Lambert was joined at the ceremony by around 50 community leaders and residents.
Since 2021, the Presque Isle airport's general aviation area has housed VALT Enterprizes, a local manufacturer that develops hypersonic delivery systems for both suborbital and orbital applications, according to The County, an online news source in the Presque Island/Aroostook County area of Maine.
The research park is designed to attract similar aerospace investment to northern Maine, where VALT has found success. It focuses on the commercial space industry with the goal of providing fast, timely, reliable space access — something that is as yet unavailable.
"It's very important to us to get this groundbreaking off," said Karl Hoose, VALT president. "We're going to be the first anchor tenant."
The research park's construction carries a nearly $6 million price tag, $4.5 million of which will be covered by a grant awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 2022. The rest will be met by $1.1 million in local funds, EDA officials said at the time, adding the park could create or retain up to 140 jobs.
Shortly after the groundbreaking, Presque Isle International Airport began soliciting engineering bids to plan the facility, noted Scott Wardwell, the airport's director. Once the research park is completed, VALT will move into a new building at the site that will allow it to expand its capabilities, alongside buildings that will one day house other tenants.
In speaking to the assembled guests at the airport, Wardwell stressed the high degree of planning that led to the construction process.
"One of the things that we want to make sure of is that we use the funds … in the best way possible," he said. "One of the ways to do that is to have a sound plan — [one] that everybody is familiar with and can see the direction that we're going."
Space Pioneers Recieve Honors at Research Park
Naming the park after President Kennedy, who escalated the space race in 1961 by boldly announcing the goal to put a man on the moon, was a choice made by the Presque Isle Air Museum committee.
During its monthly meeting on Aug. 6, 2025, the Presque Isle City Council approved the name, along with those for the two new roads that will run through it — James McEachern Drive and Gus Grissom Street.
Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign stop at the airport was a defining reason for naming the research park after him, noted Kim Smith, Presque Isle's public information officer and secretary of the air museum.
"He … led the nation through a critical period during which Presque Isle played a very critical role," said Smith. "In coming here and recognizing the importance of Presque Isle in the defense of the country, he really forged a direct connection with the community."
McEachern was a Presque Isle native who spent 49 years as a flight test engineer with General Dynamics. In addition, he was the chief flight test engineer on the first flights of numerous planes, including the B36 and B58, and several of his flights still hold world records for speed, duration and altitude, among other factors. He died in 2010 at the age of 89.
Grissom was a U.S. Air Force pilot stationed at Presque Isle Air Force Base in 1951 during the Korean War. He later joined NASA and became the second American in space as the pilot of a suborbital Project Mercury flight. He was killed in 1967 during a pre-launch test of Apollo 1 alongside two other astronauts at Cape Kennedy in Florida.
"Naming this street after [Grissom] not only honors his service and sacrifice but also creates a lasting reminder of the human courage and commitment that have shaped this nation's journey into space," Smith said.
