It began in 1994 with a post-retirement professorship at a small Midwest college. Moving from his career at aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in Palo Alto, CA, Dr. Hank Voss came to Taylor University as Professor of Engineering and Physics.
Few could have envisioned this would lead to the founding of a company that today makes satellites for NASA, the Department of Defense, multiple universities, and a host of Fortune 100 companies. Even fewer could have imagined the firm becoming the architect of the “Dream Big” program, in which every US state launches one or more satellites through its universities. And virtually no one would have predicted this would happen in the rural heartland town of Upland, IN.
All this has occurred in the decade since Voss, Chief Scientist for NearSpace Launch (NSL), co-founded the firm with Jeff Dailey, Chief Engineer. Invested in the small town of Upland, they launched the enterprise downtown.
NSL is now the largest manufacturer of small satellites in the Midwest. Their talent and laser focus has allowed them to construct satellites in six to nine months, compared with the industry norm of three to four years. To date, NSL has launched more than 100 satellites and 900 subsystems. The firm has utilized a rich source of talent from Taylor University’s highly regarded engineering and computer science programs. These groups have provided a steady pipeline of qualified interns and employees for NSL. But that is only the beginning of the firm’s ambition, explained NSL president and Taylor alumnus Matt Voss ‘06.
In 2021, NSL’s leaders launched a nonprofit arm, NearSpace Education (NSE). Its goal is to “increase student engagement and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).” NearSpace Education approaches this with a space-oriented twist through summer space camps, aerospace clubs, high-altitude balloon launches at local schools, and more. The organization has worked with more than 100 high schools, colleges, and universities. They envision “every student with access to space.”
In November 2024, NSE announced its most ambitious initiative: Dream Big. Assembling a coast-to-coast constellation of colleges and universities, the project’s ultimate goal is to launch satellites from at least one academic institution in every state in the nation. This effort is underway at six universities in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. In addition to Taylor University as NSE’s home base, Dream Big includes The University of Notre Dame, Purdue University Fort Wayne, The University of Toledo, Valparaiso University, and Western Michigan University.
The schools’ NSE-guided projects include Taylor University’s SkyForge, a space-walking robot designed to assemble large truss structures in orbit, and The University of Toledo’s development of ThinSat, single layer satellites with a printed circuit board to monitor land cover and its effects on surface temperature, with potential applications such as tracking algae growth on Lake Erie and other bodies of water.
In 2024, Taylor University kicked off its Main Street Mile Initiative, an effort to revitalize Upland’s downtown with more than $100 million in grants and private investment. For Taylor University, the initiative is both practical and biblical. The University’s leaders recognize the benefit of a vibrant surrounding community for both students and faculty, and they desire to in turn be a blessing to the local community.
NearSpace Launch and NearSpace Education were strategic private sector partners in the early days of the Main Street Mile Initiative. In 2024, NSE purchased and began renovating a century-old building, which will become NSE’s expanded headquarters. It will include a large, open area for “maker space,” where students can craft their own technology and practice using high-level equipment used to build state of the art satellites.
“Partnerships like these are so valuable to a small town’s economic viability,” said Andrea Masvero, Executive Director for 1846 Enterprises, which is overseeing the Main Street Mile Initiative and related developments. When speaking about the impact of NearSpace Launch and its non-profit affiliate on its hometown, “I can’t imagine a better advocate for Upland,” she said. “They are just an incredible source for good.”
NearSpace Launch and NearSpace Education have also gained traction in the public eye. Both were finalists for the 2025 TechPoint Mira Awards, an annual gala that recognizes the most innovative companies in Indiana’s tech ecosystem. A nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis, TechPoint is a tech sector growth initiative that seeks to transform Indiana into a global leader in digital innovation. NearSpace Launch was nominated for Tech Company of the Year and NearSpace Education for Startup of the Year.
