PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – An aerospace company that operates near Presque Isle International Airport declined to reveal the location and timing of its anticipated rocket launch Wednesday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a no-fly zone for an area southwest of Presque Isle for 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday for a rocket launch.
VALT employee Jeffrey Laughton confirmed Wednesday morning at the company’s Presque Isle facility that there would be a launch during that time but did not specify the location and declined to comment further. Laughton said the company decided not to publicly advertise where the launch would be.
VALT opened its 16,000-square-foot aerospace research center next to Presque Isle’s general aviation terminal in 2023. Company leaders said they planned to develop “high-speed or hypersonic propulsion rockets” and test those rockets west of Ashland in remote parts of the north Maine woods, due to that area’s low population.
Aroostook has been targeted as a potential site for growing Maine’s aerospace industry. The last known rocket launch occurred in 2021 when Brunswick-based bluShift Aerospace launched their Stardust 1.0 from the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. The company later opted to expand their rocket testing in Down East Maine.
A map issued with the FAA’s no-fly zone appeared to designate the launch site close to Ashland and Masardis, but clerks and managers in both towns said that they were not aware of any launch occurring.
Multiple attempts Wednesday to reach Presque Isle Airport Director Scott Wardwell for comment were unsuccessful. The city’s public information officer Kim Smith indicated that she knew of the launch but not its location.
Officials with Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency were made aware of the launch but were not asked to stand by. They also did not know the site’s location, said Aroostook EMA Director Darren Woods.
The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office did not receive official communications about the launch, said Commander Forrest Dudley. Dudley said he only knew of the no-fly zone from a social media post.
