How many jobs a Lexington space company will add with expansion. And what they’ll pay
It sent scientific experiments from Lexington around the moon and keeps track of others it operates remotely on the International Space Station. Since 2017, Space Tango has supported more than 300 experiments flown across 40 missions to space and now, it wants to grow.
The Kentucky-founded and -headquartered company is expanding its Fayette County operation with an almost $7.5 million investment that will create 25 new jobs. The money will go toward the company’s expanded Lexington facilities, which were announced earlier this month.
In phases starting this year, the company will lease and develop part of the Greyline Station campus on Loudon Avenue. The new facility — which will be in the soon-to-close wedding and event venue, Clerestory — will include dedicated mission operations space, a variety of laboratories, engineering offices and supporting employee amenities.
To encourage the investment and job growth, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave Space Tango preliminary approval June 25 for a 10-year incentive agreement.
Based on the investment and creation of jobs with an average hourly wage of $53.60, including benefits, the company could get up to $1.025 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The agreement also said the company is eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates if it hits investment, job and wage targets.
The authority also approved the company for up to $75,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act which will allow Space Tango to recoup state sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures in addition to equipment used in research and development.
“These incentives coupled with support from the state legislature will accelerate our build-out here,” said Space Tango founder Twyman Clements. “As the space economy continues to commercialize, we’re building Space Tango to further our leadership position in enabling research and manufacturing in microgravity.”
Space Tango CFO Krystal Maguire previously told the Herald-Leader the expansion will add offices for about 60 people and allow the company to put all of their various operations into one campus.
“We’re beyond excited,” she said. “We’re growing our business and will continue to do work that supports research and manufacturing in a microgravity environment, on the International Space Station and in deep space.”
New Space Tango offices are part of a major redevelopment at Greyline Station involving a 40,000-square-foot expansion. Renovations will add loft-style offices on new mezzanines with glass-fronted workspaces, open floor plans, collaborative areas and modern, industrial finishes.
The company, born out of Kentucky Space and the Kentucky Science Technology Corporation, is staffed by several University of Kentucky graduates who view space as revolutionary for myriad studies of science. Without the presence of gravity, heat doesn’t rise, oil and water don’t separate, muscle mass decreases and there are higher levels of radiation.
There are still a lot of unknowns about space. As space flight transforms, the industry pushes farther into deep space, and stays in orbit for longer periods of time, meaning science has to change with it. That’s the gap Space Tango attempts to fill.
In 2025, Kentucky set a $50.6 billion record in shipping products globally. Aerospace products led the state’s international shipments, accounting for nearly $23 billion, followed by industrial machinery, motor vehicles and pharmaceuticals. Since 2017, the state has announced roughly 40 aerospace-related projects totaling more than $1 billion in investment and the creation of more than 2,800 jobs. Kentucky is already home to more than 100 industry facilities that employ more than 23,000 people.
In a news release, Gov. Andy Beshear said the state has seen tremendous growth of the industry in recent years due to a growing, skilled workforce, access to resources and business community collaboration.
“Our historic run of economic momentum would not be possible without quality, Kentucky-based companies like Space Tango driving investment and creating good-paying jobs in our communities,” he said.
Also in the release, outgoing Commerce Lexington president and CEO Bob Quick called Space Tango a “Lexington success story that proves our ability to nurture and grow careers and businesses that include many of our target sectors.”
Quick also noted partnerships with local governments and the private sector as reason Lexington remains attractive for high-paying jobs. Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said in the release the city saw potential years ago in Space Tango and supported it through the JOBS Fund that allows businesses to apply for grant and loan dollars if they are creating jobs that pay an average of at least $28 per hour.
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