When you think of Durango, Colorado, images of mountain bikes, ski slopes, and craft breweries likely come to mind. But nestled among the peaks and pines is a company shooting for the moon—quite literally.
Agile Space Industries, an aerospace startup that designs, builds, and tests rocket engines for the next generation of NASA missions, has been quietly revolutionizing rocket propulsion technology from an unlikely location in the San Juan Mountains. The company evolved from the fusion of the Advanced Mobile Propulsion Test (or AMPT) and Agile Space Propulsion. While AMPT had been testing rocket engines at the Durango-La Plata County Airport since 2009, the addition of Agile Space Propulsion in 2019 kicked things into high gear. Suddenly, the company wasn’t just testing rocket engines but designing and building them.
The company specializes in liquid hypergolic rocket engines that use fuel propellants like hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. These aren’t your backyard bottle rockets; Agile’s creations are destined for moon landers, satellite reconnaissance missions, and maybe even a few classified defense projects that can neither be confirmed nor denied (cue the X-Files theme).
One of Agile’s crown jewels is the LE144 rocket engine thruster, a 3D-printed marvel that looks like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie’s prop closet. With cooling channels thinner than a human hair and performance that outstrips SpaceX’s Draco thrusters, it’s clear why Agile is making waves in the aerospace industry.
At the helm of this cosmic venture is a team of engineers who traded the bright lights of typical aerospace hubs for the starry skies of Southwest Colorado. Among them is Charlie Garcia, a 27-year-old wunderkind who serves as one of the company’s chief engineers. Garcia, who studied aeronautics and astronautics at MIT and graduated in 2019, embodies the brilliance and youthful energy that fuels Agile’s appeal.
“The space industry has always excited me,” Garcia said. “One of my earliest memories is of my grandpa taking me to a space museum in Hutchison, Kansas, and putting me on his shoulders so I could touch the nose of an SR-71 Blackbird airplane.”
After that impressionable experience, Garcia grabbed every opportunity to work in the aerospace realm, accepting a docent position at that same Kansas museum, working as a space camp counselor with kids ranging from seven to 17 years old, and even working a brief stint at SpaceX.
Touring the Agile facility, it’s easy to note the appealing blend of high-tech marvels amid the backdrop of quiet, mountain town charm. In one room, engineers meet over 3D-printed rocket parts with nanometer precision. In another, a pool table stands ready for post-work unwinding. Adding to the space-age ambiance, Agile’s conference rooms sport names spanning various fictional planets. From “Vulcan” (a shoutout to Star Trek) to “Tatooine” (for the Star Wars fans) and “Arrakis” (a wink to Dune lovers), these meeting spaces are a nod to the team’s shared geeky passions.
These playful details highlight Agile’s aim to create a better work-life balance. The company’s founder, Daudi Barnes, who may or may not be currently on a secret mission in New Zealand, chose Durango to escape the rat race of traditional aerospace epicenters. It’s a place where engineers can go from testing rocket engines to testing their mettle on trails on the same day. Garcia, despite his self-proclaimed workaholic nature, has embraced the Durango lifestyle.
“My favorite wintertime sport is fireplace-sitting with a glass of red wine and a good book,” he admitted. His outside time co in the summer with hikes and stargazing sessions atop Engineer
Mountain, telescope in tow. “That’s always fun,” he said.
Agile’s impact in Durango goes beyond rocket science; it also serves as inspiration. The company accepts interns from Fort Lewis College, hires locally, and gives out awards for the best space-related projects at the local Science Fair. It’s a wonderful reminder that you don’t need to be in Houston or Cape Canaveral to reach greater heights.
“The fact that Agile is here in a small town, making meaningful contributions to the future of human space exploration, sends an exciting message,” Garcia said. “You can contribute to progress wherever you are.”
In a town where cowboy boots and moon boots coexist and where the Wild West meets the final frontier, Agile Space Industries shows no signs of slowing down. With plans to expand its team and take on even more ambitious projects, the sky is certainly not the limit for this innovative Durango-based company reaching for the stars.
