Italian space company Argotec is opening a manufacturing facility in Largo, Maryland, expanding its business to the U.S. Argotec is investing $25 million to launch its business in the U.S., the company announced Wednesday. The company plans to use the 20,000 square foot facility in Maryland to design, develop, build, test and operate satellites. The facility will bring around 100 jobs to the area. 

The first product built at the facility will be a universal space transponder-lite, designed to improve radio frequency for satellites in deep space and to facilitate high-speed communications services in deep space, in collaboration with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Argotec plans to expand production of the custom UST-Lite line and says the company already has customers for it.