Melagen Labs Secures $4.5 Million Public-Private Partnership with Taylor, Texas to Build State-of-the-Art Radiation and Space Testing Center
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ben White
Taylor Economic Development Corporation Ben.White@tayloredc.org
512-352-4321
Melagen Labs Secures $4.5 Million Public-Private Partnership with Taylor, Texas to Build
State-of-the-Art Radiation and Space Testing Center
Historic agreement establishes one of America's newest commercial radiation testing facilities,
addressing a critical national infrastructure bottleneck for radiation testing.
TAYLOR, TEXAS — April 2026 — Melagen Labs today announced a $4.5 million Economic Development
Performance Agreement with the Taylor Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) to establish a
state-of-the-art Radiation Testing and Qualification Center in Taylor, Williamson County, Texas.
The facility will be among the first privately operated, commercial-grade gamma irradiation
facilities in Texas and one of the most significant additions to
U.S. radiation testing infrastructure in years.
Construction begins in 2026, with testing operations targeted to start in 2027. This facility is
the foundation for the full stack radiation shielding platform that Melagen Labs is building to
serve the full breadth of America's aerospace, defense, and advanced electronics industries.
Why This Matters: A Critical Infrastructure Bottleneck
Radiation testing is a critical requirement for many advanced electronics program operating in
space, defense, or high-reliability environments. Yet the United States faces a severe shortage of
testing capacity, with wait times of several months at existing facilities, which delays missions,
stalls programs, and forces companies to seek testing overseas.
A major National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study warned that the U.S.
radiation testing system is fragile and "could easily suffer major strains if even a single major
facility closes." The U.S. currently operates a limited number of commercial radiation testing
facilities serving more than several hundreds of space and defense companies.
A 2025 analysis in SpaceNews called directly on Congress to establish public-private partnerships
with commercial testing providers as the fastest path to closing this gap, and in turn, calling out
the ability of private operators to "move much faster… at a fraction of the cost."
The new testing facility in Taylor is precisely addressing that gap, and it is being built now.
Who This Will Help Accelerate
The radiation testing bottleneck touches every frontier of American technology ambition. This
facility will directly serve
and accelerate:
NASA's Artemis Program and Lunar Infrastructure — Upcoming NASA missions require
radiation-qualified electronics for deep-space and lunar surface environments. Domestic test access
is essential to keeping those programs on schedule.
Orbital Data Centers and In-Space Computing — Orbital computing companies are racing to build
compute infrastructure in orbit. Every processor, memory chip, and power system going to space
requires radiation qualification. Our Taylor facility will be a critical enabler for this emerging
industry.
Advanced Electronics and Semiconductor Development — Radiation-hardened microelectronics are
explicitly classified as "critical to the nation's security and defense" in recent U.S.
export-control rulemaking. Domestic testing infrastructure is a strategic asset for the companies
developing next-generation chips and systems.
Defense, Space Force, and Government Programs — U.S. Space Force, Air Force, and DoD programs face
mission delays waiting for test slots. The Taylor facility will include secure, SCIF-compatible
testing environments to serve classified and defense programs at the speed those missions demand.
Commercial Satellite Constellation Operators — As satellite constellations scale toward tens of
thousands of spacecraft, the demand for radiation-qualified COTS electronics is growing faster than
current testing infrastructure can support.
Why America Is Falling Behind
The shortage of domestic radiation testing capacity is not isolated and sits at the center of a
broader vulnerability in America's advanced technology supply chain. Radiation-hardened electronics
programs face compounding pressures: at-capacity test infrastructure, a limited specialized
workforce, and growing competition for limited capacity from both commercial and government
customers.
Melagen Labs has briefed Congressional offices on these dynamics as a systemic risk to U.S. space
and defense competitiveness. The Taylor testing facility is a direct response by being commercially
led, locally supported, and built to the specifications the industry actually needs.
What We Are Building
The Taylor testing facility will deliver:
Co-60 TID Testing — Total Ionizing Dose qualification using panoramic irradiators, supporting
device-level, board-level, and subsystem-level campaigns for aerospace, defense, semiconductor, and
energy customers.
Proton SEE Testing — High-energy 200–230 MeV testing capabilities conducted in consolidated testing
campaigns with partnered facilities in the nearby vicinity.
Electronics Characterization Laboratory — Pre- and post-irradiation electrical testing with
automated test equipment, temperature-controlled fixtures, and multi-cycle qualification analysis.
Secure Data and Reporting Infrastructure — SCIFs, ITAR-aligned data handling, encrypted customer
portals, and automated qualification reporting designed for DoD, Space Force, NASA, and
export-controlled programs.
Space and Technology Innovation Space — The facility will be developed into a purpose-built
deep-tech and aerospace ecosystem hub in the future, providing member companies with co-working
spaces, shared lab infrastructure, and on-site radiation testing access.
Why Taylor, Texas
Taylor sits in Williamson County (the nation's 8th fastest growing county) at the center of Central
Texas's technology expansion. Samsung's flagship semiconductor campus anchors the region. Austin's
defense and space technology
ecosystem lies 35 miles south. Yet despite this concentration of advanced technology, not a single
commercial radiation testing facility has existed in the region — until now.
Taylor's decision to back this project as a public-private partnership of this kind reflects the
city's recognition that the moment demands bold investment in nationally strategic infrastructure.
The facility represents a shared conviction between Melagen Labs and the City of Taylor to closing
America's radiation testing gap.
“We are excited to welcome Melagen to Taylor,” said Betty Day, Chairperson of the Taylor Economic
Development Corporation. “This project firmly places Taylor, Texas on the aerospace and defense map
and represents a significant milestone for our community. It is especially exciting to know that
Taylor will play a role in advancing future space exploration, while creating new opportunities for
innovation, investment, and economic growth here at home.”
The Cislunar Group, a transatlantic market entry and expansion architecture firm specializing in
aerospace and defense, led a multi-state site selection process for Melagen Labs across four states
and multiple cities before identifying Taylor, Texas as the optimal location. Stephen McCall,
Founder and Managing Director and former Head of Government Affairs at Firefly Aerospace, directed
the full engagement — including economic development strategy, public-private partnership
architecture, and government relations — from inception through board approval.
Built on Deep Radiation Expertise
Melagen Labs is building a full-stack radiation protection ecosystem for the aerospace and defense
industries. Over the last 2 years, Melagen Labs developed their flagship offering is MLC1, a
proprietary composite that is significantly lighter and more effective than traditional aluminum
shielding, enabling commercial off-the-shelf electronics to operate reliably in the space radiation
environment. MLC1 has been validated through ground testing and is currently being flight-tested
aboard the International Space Station in a joint mission with Satlyt, where MLC1 is protecting a
live COTS AI processor from real orbital radiation exposure.
That materials expertise, along with the deep physics, testing, and qualification knowledge built
in developing MLC1, is what drives Melagen's expansion into radiation testing infrastructure. The
company understands the problem from every angle: the environments electronics must survive, the
testing methodologies required to qualify them, and the gaps in the current system that are holding
the industry back.
The Taylor testing center is the ground-based anchor of the Melagen platform built to support every
stage of a program's radiation challenge, from material design and shielding to testing and
qualification.
Quotes from Leadership
"This facility is about more than testing. It's about building the infrastructure layer that
enables the next generation of American space and defense programs. Taylor, Texas, gave us the
partnership and the platform to move fast. We're building one of the most important pieces of
national technology infrastructure to come online in years, which will enable commercial and
defense partners to accelerate their development for lunar infrastructure, and this is just the
beginning of the network we're building."
— Muhammad Hunain, Founder & CEO, Melagen Labs Corp.
“Taylor, Texas is now in the space business. This project is a true game changer for both our city
and Williamson County, positioning us on the forefront of innovation and advanced manufacturing.
With this investment, companies from across the country can now test materials destined for space
right here in
Taylor. We’re proud to partner with Melagen to diversify our local economy and accelerate our
momentum in the aerospace and defense sectors. This is exactly the kind of opportunity envisioned
in our strategic plan, and we look forward to attracting even more cutting-edge companies to our
community.”
— Ben White, President & CEO, Taylor Economic Development Corporation
Get Early Access — Pre-Book Your Testing Hours Now
The Taylor testing facility waitlist is now open. Commercial, defense, and government customers can
register for early
access and secure founder pricing on test hours ahead of the facility's opening.
Register for early access and pre-book testing hours: melagenlabs.com/testing
About Melagen Labs Corp.
Melagen Labs Corp. is building the world’s first full-stack radiation shielding platform for
next-gen space electronics and the orbital infrastructure economy. The company’s flagship offering
is MLC1, a proprietary composite that is significantly lighter and more effective than traditional
aluminum shielding, enabling commercial off-the-shelf electronics to operate reliably in the space
radiation environment.
melagenlabs.com
About Taylor Economic Development Corporation
TEDC is a Type A, 4A non-profit corporation founded by the Taylor voters in 1994. TEDC is funded by
one-half percent of the annual sales tax from the City of Taylor and is a separate entity from the
City of Taylor with a separate staff and budget. The organization is quasi-governmental, subject to
open-records and open meetings laws with two exceptions for economic development and is treated by
the State of Texas as a private, non-profit entity.
tayloredc.org