LIFE SCIENCES · LAB SPACE AND VENTURE SUPPORT
Altitude Lab will move its accelerator and member startups into Portal at Woodbine Labs, a planned 30,000-square-foot Salt Lake City life-sciences hub. The facility is scheduled to open in February 2027. The partnership combines lab and office space with accelerator programming, venture-development support and connections to investors and industry partners. The announcement said more than 40 Altitude Lab companies have raised a combined $205 million.
HARD TECH · AEROSPACE & ADVANCED MATERIALS
Held October 26–30, Hard Tech Week featured companies and organizations working in aerospace, defense, advanced materials, manufacturing, robotics and energy. Fortem Technologies, Moog, Karman Space & Defense, Hexcel, Albany Engineered Composites and Lion Energy were among the companies featured across the week. One standout collaboration brought together 47G, USA Bobsled/Skeleton, Albany, Hexcel and Nammo Composite Solutions to apply Utah aerospace and composites expertise to the team’s next-generation sleds. The hackathon brought builders together around real industry problems. Nucleus and GOED’s Startup State initiative, led by Tyler Jennings, supported the open challenge, while Torus sponsored a separate energy-and-AI challenge.
SPACE · STUDENT ENGINEERING
Utah Tech University students have designed and begun testing a student-built 3U CubeSat. The proposed mission would use a thermal-infrared camera to map surface temperatures across Utah at roughly 65–75-meter resolution, data that could contribute to water-resource management. The team plans to apply to NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative in 2028, with a possible 2029 launch if selected.
DEFENSE · STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE
Strider Technologies secured a five-year Department of the Air Force contract worth up to $85 million. The company’s strategic-intelligence platform will continue supporting the Air Force Office of Commercial and Economic Analysis as it screens applicants to the SBIR and STTR programs. Strider operates an office in Salt Lake City as part of a global footprint spanning 16 countries.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING · AEROSPACE
Baxter Aerospace plans to invest $19.55 million in a St. George manufacturing expansion and create 90 high-paying jobs over five years under a post-performance state incentive agreement. The company develops aerospace systems that include satellite communications and autonomous wildfire-response technology.
ELECTRIC AVIATION · HEALTHCARE LOGISTICS
BETA Technologies completed five days of Utah flight operations with Alpine Air Express, UDOT and 47G. Its all-electric ALIA aircraft flew routes connecting Salt Lake City, Provo and Logan to demonstrate time-sensitive medical-cargo movement, including potential radiopharmaceutical delivery.
DEFENSE · VENTURE CAPITAL
Lindon-based Fortem Technologies completed a $50 million Series B led by Lockheed Martin, with participation from Unusual Machines and other strategic and institutional investors. The completed round includes the $25 million initial investment Lockheed announced earlier this year.
SPACE · RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION
Advanced Space selected Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory to provide two flight-qualified Iris Radios and related communications, navigation and timekeeping technology for NASA’s CAPSTONE 02 mission. Launch is targeted for late 2027.
DEFENSE · AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
Bluffdale-based Vector announced that it was selected as a top-performing competitor in the federal Drone Dominance Program and is scheduled to receive orders for up to 5,000 unmanned systems. The company also received orders for its high-voltage electronic safe-and-arm device and says an initial Phase II order is already in hand.
AEROSPACE · DEFENSE
Northrop Grumman opened East Gate 3 in Layton to expand manufacturing capacity for the B-21 Raider. The broader East Gate campus includes approximately 845,000 square feet and has capacity for 1,500 employees by 2032. The opening came alongside expansion plans from KIHOMAC, Moog and GMRE that together project 316 new high-paying jobs and approximately $52 million in capital investment.
AEROSPACE · DEFENSE
Salt Lake City-based CycloKinetics selected Venus Aerospace to test CycloRP, its higher-density drop-in replacement for conventional RP-1 and RP-2 rocket fuels. Initial hot-fire testing successfully demonstrated combustion in a rotating-detonation rocket engine.
SPACE · INFRASTRUCTURE
At its August 21 meeting, Utah’s Spaceport Exploration Committee reviewed the new National Space Transportation Policy and a site-assessment and economic-impact study.
