Guest Blog: E-Resident John Karp on Maine Innovation—From the Wright Flyer to Artemis
I have a unique position: I serve as an Executive in Residence at MTI. During my ten years in this position, I have had the pleasure of reviewing some of the most innovative technologies imaginable. From revolutionary biomedical products to automated lobster processing equipment. As an assignment under this “ER” title, MTI asked me to take on the Directorship of the Maine Space Corporation. I also serve as the “absolutely unsponsored” Vice Chairman of the Owls Head Transportation Museum, whose collections are pre- 1940 aircraft, automobiles and engines which were key evolutionary examples of progress in transportation. They utilize this operating collection in their STEM Educational efforts, having scaled to serve 20,000 students last year over much of the state. The contrasts between this collection and MTI’s portfolio of investments are simply staggering for the brief amount of time between the Owls Head’s collection period and MTI’s investments in technologies.
As I exhibited parts of bluShift Aerospace’s test rocket (which benefitted from MTI funding) and other space related items at Owls Head’s annual StemFest (and thank you MTI for your support of this event as well), it occurred to me that I was standing near a really cool display: Our Wright Flyer replica with a full scale but still tiny one man Gemini Space Capsule mockup next to it, with Wilbur Wright peering into the capsule. 1903 vs 1961. Only 58 years! And now, only another 65 years later, we have flown around the moon and are planning a colony there as a steppingstone to Mars.
But what enabled such rapid progress? Robert Goddard. His was the first liquid fueled high altitude rocket, using gasoline and liquid oxygen in 1926. The Government didn’t care. Fortunately, others did: He received a total of $10,000 from the Smithsonian by 1927, and through the personal efforts of Charles A. Lindbergh, he subsequently received financial support from the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation. Grants – when researching this article, I honestly wasn’t looking for an MTI promotional angle, yet here it is! Looks like they really are a good idea. In case you missed it, Goddard was 1926 – exactly 100 years ago. He tried not to blow up on the launch pad and fly. Now we target mars and sustainable moon colonies.
So where could the Space Industry be in 50 years? I’m honored to be playing a small part in finding out! Looks like I slipped back into my Space Corp Director role for a minute there – forgive me; it’s exciting to see, as are so many of the diverse projects we deal with every day at MTI.
MTI mission: Invest in R&D leading to commercialization of new products and services. MTI has invested in numerous Space related projects and no doubt will make more such investments. Just as the Biotech industry in Maine has benefitted greatly over the years by MTI funding. It was started 50 years ago by 4 people who wanted to raise their families in Maine. It now employs 10,000+ at wage rates 1.7x the state average. The Space Industry started at zero and is already at 90 companies. We had parts all over Artemis, from high-temperature composites made by Fiber Materials in Biddeford, to gas filters from Porvair in Caribou, to high-temperature metals from Elmet Technologies in Lewiston (which went public just after Artemis returned—well played!)
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