Portal Space Systems will create a second factory to scale up production of high-performance in-space vehicles as it gears up for initial test flights in 2026.

The company announced at the Paris Air Show June 17 that it will establish a second factory, five kilometers from its current facilities in Bothell, Washington, for its Supernova vehicle. The new factory, spanning more than 4,600 square meters, is scheduled to open in late 2026.

The second facility will allow Portal to produce one Supernova spacecraft a month starting in 2027. Supernova is the spacecraft the company is developing that uses solar thermal propulsion to provide both high thrust and high delta V, or change in velocity.