Narravity Inc., an aerospace research and technology firm, announced Thursday that it will expand into Fremont County.

The company specializes in designing and testing orbital laboratory equipment and the tools needed to conduct experiments in microgravity.

It will use money from the state’s Rural Jump-Start program, meant to support “economic development and job creation in economically distressed, rural counties of Colorado,” to help fund its expansion, according to a news release from the state’s economic development office.

The company is expected to create five net new jobs in the county, according to the Office of Economic Development and International Trade. To qualify for tax breaks, the new hire salaries must meet or exceed the average wage in Fremont County, which is just over $56,000, according to OEDIT.

The program provides Narravity with $15,000 in grant funding and four years of tax benefits through the program, the release said. The funding is contingent on the company meeting certain job growth requirements, though these are far less stringent than job growth tax incentives. Some employees at the company may also qualify for personal state income tax credits, the release said.

“We are building a microgravity platform to accelerate experiments in space, allowing companies to test materials, manufacturing processes, and new technologies in space more easily, affordably and frequently than traditional space platforms allow,” said Kei Shimada, CEO of Narravity.

“Fremont County offers a strong environment for long-term innovation, and we are excited about growing here in a way that contributes to both Colorado’s aerospace leadership and the local economy.”

Narravity is developing microgravity laboratory infrastructure for commercial research and product development in low Earth orbit. Because of gravity, certain experiments are more difficult to conduct on Earth whereas in a space environment, some of those constraints are removed.

The company believes “new forms, materials, and performance insights” can be gleaned from experiments in space and a microgravity environment. In the mid- to late 1990s, researchers from NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos discovered microgravity was an ideal environment for medical research.

Progress made during the Space Shuttle-Mir program has been continued aboard the International Space Station, with developments made into treating diseases like tuberculosis and have found faster ways to produce certain antipsychotic drugs, according to NASA.

Colorado is home to one of the strongest aerospace economies in the country, according to OEDIT. It ranks second, behind California, and is home to more than 2,000 aerospace companies.

“Colorado is a leader in aerospace innovation, and this new business will help grow our thriving aerospace industry and bring more jobs to Fremont County,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a Thursday news release.

Companies using the Rural Jump-Start program have to meet minimum hiring requirements, but these are based on the population of the county. For those with a population below 100,000, like Freemont County, a company is not expected to hire anyone if expanding during a partial calendar year.

However, after the first full calendar year, the company must hire at least one new employee to remain eligible for tax incentives, according to OEDIT. As of Jan. 15, 37 companies participated in the Rural Jump-Start Program, helping to create nearly 800 jobs across Colorado, according to OEDIT.

The jobs have been at or above the county’s average annual wage, OEDIT states.

“The Rural Jump-Start program allows us to support Narravity’s growth here, bringing good-paying jobs and positioning our community as part of cutting-edge work in microgravity research and space-based innovation,” said Rob Brown, executive director of the Fremont Economic Development Corporation.

Got an interesting aerospace or business story? Contact the writer at alex.edwards@gazettedev.gazette.com.