bluShift Aerospace

Making Maine a space travel destination

Sascha Deri was trying to get his aerospace company off the ground — literally and figuratively — but was having issues. At the time, he was based in Massachusetts and was finding it next to impossible to secure state funding or approval to test and launch his biofuel powered rockets. An official even told him, point blank, that he should relocate to California, Texas or Florida. Before ending the conversation, the official offered one last suggestion on where he may find the support he needed: Maine and, specifically, MTI.

Growing up in Maine, Sascha was searching for a reason to return. MTI’s support of his innovative, biofuel rockets provided the perfect opportunity. MTI helped finance bluShift’s relocation to Brunswick, along with investments in its fuel and rocket technology and invaluable guidance in navigating the federal government’s funding programs.

According to Sascha, bluShift wouldn’t exist without MTI, nor could they have successfully launched the world’s first commercial biofuel rocket. bluShift is looking beyond their own success, however. They hope to spearhead an aerospace boom in Maine, which is advantageously positioned for polar orbit launches. And they hope the Maine students and researchers whose payloads they carry will grow their own entrepreneurial aerospace business, while also attracting others to Maine — just as bluShift was a few years ago.