- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
An aerospace company plans to hurl satellites into space from Adak Island in Alaska's Aleutian chain under a new land agreement with the Aleut Corporation.
The 100-year land lease, finalized in October 2024 and announced this month, calls for repurposing a former naval base into a launch site for Long Beach, Calif.-based SpinLaunch. The spaceflight technology company uses centrifugal force to propel satellites into orbit without traditional rocket fuel.
SpinLaunch's system uses an electric-powered kinetic launcher that accelerates satellites to hypersonic speeds. The technology aims to place small satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at substantially lower costs than traditional methods, using components from existing industries to create its mass acceleration system.
Adak Island offers strategic advantages for the project, including favorable Pacific Ocean launch trajectories and existing infrastructure such as an airport with scheduled service and a deepwater port, according to a news release from the Aleut Corporation.
“Aleut is committed to driving economic growth on Adak while respecting its rich Unangax heritage,” Aleut Corporation President and CEO Skoey Vergen said in a statement.
The project could help revitalize Adak, where the population has fallen from 4,000 to about 150 residents since the Navy base closed in 1997.
“That will certainly mean an increase in population,” Aleut Corp. spokeswoman Kate Gilling told Alaska Public Media. “We'll need more restaurants. We'll need more hoteling and housing space. We'll need more infrastructure.”
The Aleut Corporation, one of 13 Alaska Native regional corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, has sought economic development opportunities for the remote island.
SpinLaunch had previously explored other Alaska locations as far back as 2020, when they began considering an Unalaskan acreage owned by the Ounalashka Corporation. The company had identified Ugadaga Bay as a potential site, but faced complications including the need to build a road down Ugadaga Trail—a popular hiking route and historic Unangax̂ trading path—as well as access issues requiring crossing public land to reach the corporation-owned property.
