{"id":17073,"date":"2025-12-10T21:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/washington-state-will-provide-350k-to-support-portal-space-systems-satellite-factory-in-bothell\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T21:50:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:50:25","slug":"washington-state-will-provide-350k-to-support-portal-space-systems-satellite-factory-in-bothell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/washington-state-will-provide-350k-to-support-portal-space-systems-satellite-factory-in-bothell\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington state will provide $350K to support Portal Space System\u2019s satellite factory in Bothell"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Illustration:
An artist\u2019s conception shows Portal Space Systems\u2019 Supernova spacecraft in orbit. (Portal Space Systems Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is setting aside $350,000 from an economic development fund to support Portal Space Systems\u2019 expansion into a new 50,000-square-foot satellite manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash.<\/p>\n

Ferguson announced today that he\u2019s directing the state Department of Commerce to award funds from the Governor\u2019s Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund to Economic Alliance Snohomish County. The funding will help Portal transition from testing and development to scalable production, with a goal of building four spacecraft a month by 2027.<\/p>\n

The expansion is expected to create more than 100 jobs in the next two years, and more than 700 jobs by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrategic Reserve Funds are targeted investments that create good paying jobs and spur innovation across Washington,\u201d Ferguson said in a news release. \u201cThis project not only achieves those goals, it also reaffirms our state\u2019s role as a leader in the space industry. I am proud to support pioneering projects like this in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uncommon Thinkers at the GeekWire Gala:<\/strong> How Portal and its CEO plan to harness the heat of the sun in the cold of space<\/p>\n

Portal already operates an 8,000-square-foot facility in Bothell, where it\u2019s been developing the hardware for its flagship Supernova in-space mobility platform and a smaller spacecraft dubbed Starburst. Supernova will feature an innovative solar thermal propulsion system, which uses concentrated sunlight as a heat source for its thrusters. Both spacecraft are designed to provide greater mobility for commercial and government payloads in orbit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spent the last year proving what\u2019s possible. Now we\u2019re scaling to deliver it,\u201d Portal co-founder and CEO Jeff Thornburg said. \u201cThis support from Washington isn\u2019t just about growth. It\u2019s about building a strategic capability for the nation and doing it right here in Bothell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revenue for the Strategic Reserve Fund comes from unclaimed lottery prize money. The funds are intended to attract and retain jobs and economic investment in Washington, limited to highly strategic projects that deliver significant job creation and capital investment. These projects are considered in partnership with local associate development organizations, such as Economic Alliance Snohomish County. The governor determines awards based on recommendations from the Department of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cPortal Space Systems represents the kind of bold, future-facing innovation we\u2019re proud to see growing in Washington,\u201d said Commerce Director Joe Nguyen. \u201cWith the governor\u2019s new investment, Portal is better equipped to scale up its cutting-edge operations. This strengthens Washington\u2019s position as a hub for world-class talent and national space infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grants from the Strategic Reserve Fund must be accompanied by private investment. Since its founding in 2021, Portal has raised more than $22 million in venture capital financing and grants, and received a commitment of $45 million in public-private funding through the U.S. Space Force\u2019s STRATFI program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An artist\u2019s conception shows Portal Space Systems\u2019 Supernova spacecraft in orbit. (Portal Space Systems Illustration) Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is setting aside $350,000 from an economic development fund to support Portal Space Systems\u2019 expansion into a new 50,000-square-foot satellite manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash. Ferguson announced today that he\u2019s directing the state Department of Commerce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4363,4403,4404,642,4405,4406,4407],"class_list":["post-17073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bothell","tag-economic-development","tag-gov-bob-ferguson","tag-portal-space-systems","tag-propulsion","tag-washington-department-of-commerce","tag-washington-state-department-of-commerce"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}