Gov. Beshear: Space Tango To Expand Lexington Headquarters With $7.4 Million Investment, Create 25 New High-Wage Jobs

Kentucky-based space technology company has supported experiments on over 40 missions flown to the International Space Station

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 25, 2026) - Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced exciting momentum within the state's aerospace and technology sectors as Space Tango, a nationally recognized leader in commercial space infrastructure and mission operations, will expand its Lexington operation with a $7.4 million investment, creating 25 quality, good-paying jobs.

"Kentucky's technology and aerospace industries have seen tremendous growth in recent years because of our highly skilled workforce, access to resources and local and state collaboration," said Gov. Beshear. "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."

To support future company growth, Space Tango will expand its Kentucky presence, leasing and developing a substantially larger facility at the Greyline Station campus in Lexington. The new facility will include dedicated mission operations space, build laboratories, biological laboratories, electrical laboratories, machine shops, testing laboratories, engineering offices, collaboration areas and supporting employee amenities. The project will be implemented in phases beginning in 2026, with additional expansion capacity available for future growth.

"Space Tango was founded in Kentucky and is proud to continue building its future here," said Twyman Clements, president and co-founder of Space Tango. "These incentives coupled with support from the state legislature will accelerate our build-out here. 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 is a Kentucky-founded and -headquartered space technology company that develops advanced systems enabling research, manufacturing and autonomous operations in the space environment. Since 2017, Space Tango has supported more than 300 experiments flown across approximately 40 missions to the International Space Station and has received multiple NASA awards supporting deep-space exploration efforts, including work associated with the AVATAR program and Artemis missions. Today, Space Tango is a nationally recognized leader in commercial space infrastructure and mission operations and employs highly skilled engineers, scientists, technicians and business professionals.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton highlighted the local support for the company: "Lexington saw the potential of Space Tango many years ago and supported it through our local incentive Jobs Fund program. Our support has continued as Space Tango has grown and created good jobs for our residents. Congratulations to the whole Space Tango team!"

Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington, noted the community's business-friendly environment: "Space Tango is another Lexington success story that proves our ability to nurture and grow careers and businesses that include many of our target sectors - high-tech, advanced manufacturing and research. We have the talent, resources and partnerships with local and state governments as well as the private sector that make Lexington attractive for these high-paying careers."

Space Tango's investment and job creation furthers what has been the best six-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,300 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $50 billion in announced investments, creating more than 70,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth's history and $29 billion more than the next highest total.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the battery capital of the United States: AESC's $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Ford Motor Co.'s $2 billion, 2,200-job commitment in Louisville, as well as its $2 billion, 2,100-job project at the Kentucky 1 plant in Hardin County; Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing's $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County; and Toyota's $1.3 billion investment in Scott County, among others.

In February, the Governor announced Kentucky once again set an all-time record for products shipped globally, with $50.6 billion in exports in 2025, representing a 5.65% increase over 2024.

Unemployment rates fell in all 120 counties between December 2024 and December 2025.

The Governor's administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund. In 2023, Kentucky recorded over 2 million jobs filled for the first time ever and has stayed above that number ever since.

In addition, Kentucky has secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

Earlier this year, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky in the top five nationally and second in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2025 Governor's Cup rankings. In June, Area Development magazine awarded the commonwealth a Silver Shovel designation in its 2025 Shovel Awards, which highlight states for attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities.

Gov. Beshear also announced a new initiative, called New Kentucky Home, to increase economic investment, attain and attract talent, and increase tourism across the state.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) today preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $1,025,000 in tax incentives based on the company's investment of $7.4 million and annual targets of:

• Creation and maintenance of 25 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
• Paying an average hourly wage of $53.60, including benefits, across those jobs.

Additionally, KEDFA approved Space Tango for up to $75,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, the company can receive resources from Kentucky's workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized raining and job-training incentives.

For more information on Space Tango, visit spacetango.com.

A detailed community profile for Fayette County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky's economic development efforts and programs is available at NewKentuckyHome.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.