Aegis Aerospace and Texas A&M University are teaming up to launch a new research facility on the International Space Station (ISS).   The Texas A&M / Aegis Aerospace Multi-Use Space Platform Integrating Research & Innovative Technology (TAMU-SPIRIT) facility will exclusively house the university’s experiments, serving as a dedicated hub for in-space research, technology testing, advanced materials manufacturing, robotics development, space surveillance and tracking.   “As a space-grant university, Texas A&M has led the way in space research and exploration for decades,” said General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, president of Texas A&M University, in a news release. “Now, thanks to our partnership with Aegis Aerospace and support from Chancellor Sharp and The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, the TAMU-SPIRIT Flight Facility will pave the way for Aggie researchers to push the boundaries of space innovation. Our research is already out of this world; it’s fitting that we’re making it official.”  Texas A&M will host an open call for research proposals every six months to select experiments for TAMU-SPIRIT, inviting researchers from diverse disciplines to submit their ideas. Selected experiments will be transported in individual science carriers, equipped with power and data storage, and robotically installed on the facility. Once completed, experiments will return to Earth for further analysis, offering insights into the effects of space exposure on various materials and technologies.  Webster-based Aegis Aerospace will own and operate the TAMU-SPIRIT facility, providing funding, supplies and services to support Texas A&M’s experiments in reaching the ISS.  “This partnership is a wonderful opportunity for Texas A&M to do something bold,” said Stephanie Murphy, CEO and Chairman of Aegis Aerospace, in a statement. “As far as I am aware, TAMU-SPIRIT will make Texas A&M the first university with private access to a flight facility on the International Space Station.”  The TAMU-SPIRIT is expected to take two years to develop and will be modeled after Aegis’ MISSE Flight Facility, a platform launched in 2018. The first Texas A&M-led experiments are scheduled for launch in 2027.  The university is also establishing its own Space Institute near NASA’s Johnson Space Center, a state-of-the-art research and training facility supported by the Texas Space Commission. The Texas A&M Space Institute, which broke ground last year, is slated for completion late next year.  Learn more about Houston’s thriving aerospace industry. 

Over the past 15 years, Houston has secured $104.8 million in early-stage R&D funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), according to the agency. The strategic funding is critical in advancing breakthrough technologies that aim to revolutionize the energy sector.   Since its inception in 2009, ARPA-E has invested $4.07 billion into more than 1,690 projects nationwide. Texas has been a major beneficiary of these funds, receiving $217 million across 80 projects, with Houston playing a leading role in shaping the state’s energy landscape.  While ARPA-E funding has historically been directed toward university-led projects, Houston has demonstrated a unique advantage. Most of the funding has been awarded to private companies, underscoring Houston’s ability to transition groundbreaking energy technologies from the research phase to commercialization.  “Houston has built an unparalleled environment for energy innovation, where companies don’t just develop breakthrough technologies—they scale them,” said Jane Stricker, the Partnership’s senior vice president of energy transition and the executive director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative. “The significant ARPA-E funding secured by private companies reflects Houston’s unique ability to bridge innovation and commercialization. With a deep talent pool, access to industry expertise, and a collaborative ecosystem, Houston continues to be the place where energy solutions grow from concept to scalable impact.”  Transformative Projects in Houston  Houston’s ability to attract and leverage ARPA-E funding is evident in the success of local companies. A Partnership analysis found that since 2009, 13 Houston-based companies receiving ARPA-E funding have collectively raised $1.3 billion, reached a combined valuation of $1.9 billion, and employ 850 people. These companies are driving transformative projects that are shaping the future of energy. Fervo Energy received a $5.6 million investment from ARPA-E, which became a cornerstone for the company’s rapid growth. With this early support, Fervo has gone on to raise nearly $500 million in additional funding, including a $255 million round in 2023. The company is now at the forefront of geothermal energy innovation, supplying renewable power to high-profile clients like NV Energy and Google, which uses Fervo’s geothermal energy to power its data centers.  With a combined $21.5 million in ARPA-E funding from awards in 2018 and 2022, Quidnet Energy has made significant strides in advancing its grid-scale geomechanical pumped storage technology. By leveraging existing natural resources, the company enables long-duration, high-capacity renewable energy storage. In 2020, Quidnet secured an additional $10 million in Series B funding and is now scaling its groundbreaking system to support CPS Energy in Texas.  In 2019, Syzygy Plasmonics received $836,000 in funding to advance its photocatalysis technology, which uses light instead of heat to drive chemical reactions. This innovation significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions, paving the way for more sustainable industrial processes. The company has since secured $104.8 million in additional funding and recently delivered its first industrial-scale Rigel reactor cells to a demonstration site in South Korea.  Learn more about Houston’s Energy Transition Initiative at the upcoming 2025 CERAWeek.