In a major move to strengthen Texas’s role in the national space sector, the Texas Space Commission has granted over $26 million to five companies as part of its ongoing effort to stimulate growth and innovation in the state’s space industry.
An artistic impression depicting lunar mining operations for Helium-3 involving harvesters, a solar power plant, rovers and return launchers. Credit: Interlune
The funding, approved during the commission’s April 16 board meeting, marks the latest round of grants following previous awards to five companies in February and to four economic and regional development organizations in January.
The five recipients in this round are:
- Aegis Aerospace: Awarded $10 million to develop an advanced materials manufacturing platform for use in space.
- ICON Technology: Received $694,350 to upgrade its facility for producing lunar regolith simulant, which will support both in-house and third-party testing of advanced construction technologies.
- Interlune: Secured $4.84 million to establish a lunar regolith simulant “center of excellence” at the upcoming Texas A&M Space Institute, currently under construction at the Johnson Space Center.
- KULR Technology Group: Granted $6.7 million for research into high-performance batteries designed to operate efficiently at low temperatures.
- Venus Aerospace Corporation: Awarded $3.9 million to build a rocket engine test site at the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport, aimed at supporting hypersonic vehicle development and other aerospace ventures.
All grants received unanimous board approval except for KULR Technology’s, which was opposed by University of Texas El Paso President Heather Wilson. No reason was publicly provided for the dissenting vote.
“These projects will be instrumental in solidifying Texas’ leadership in the expanding space economy while enhancing our national capabilities,” said Gwen Griffin, chair of the Texas Space Commission.
The awards are part of a broader $150 million allocation from the Texas Legislature in 2023, which also established the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC). To date, the commission has distributed $95.3 million of the fund and is currently reviewing additional proposals submitted earlier this year. The January call for proposals attracted 284 submissions totaling $3.46 billion in requested funding.
As the Texas Legislature continues its current session, more funding could be on the horizon. Speaking at the AIAA ASCENDxTexas conference in February, Norm Garza, the commission’s executive director, expressed optimism that the overwhelming response to the grant program would signal the need for additional appropriations. “Texas is in a strong fiscal position,” he noted. “We hope this demonstrates the demand and value of further investment.”
Echoing those sentiments, State Rep. Greg Bonnen, chair of the House Appropriations Committee and a strong advocate for the commission, hinted at potential increases in future funding. “We’re hopeful the next budget will include additional resources to build on the foundation we’ve laid,” he said.
Coinciding with the grant approvals, Bonnen appeared before a legislative committee to discuss a bill aimed at refining the legislation that originally created the commission and TARSEC. Describing the bill as “cleanup legislation,” he noted it would eliminate the state’s spaceport trust fund and make other adjustments to streamline operations.
Executives from Firefly Aerospace and Starlab Space, recipients of February’s awards, also testified in favor of the bill, voicing strong support for the commission’s work and its impact on the future of space exploration and technology in Texas.
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