Mars Hill is a town in Aroostook County, United States, nestled at the foot of Mars Hill Mountain. The town lies less than one mile from the border with Canada; the region is agricultural. The population was 1,493 at the time of the 2010 census; the town of Mars Hill is named for Hezekiah Mars, who camped for three years at the base of Mars Hill Mountain. In 1834, the first industry was cutting timber trees for masts. Farming became important. Following the end of the Aroostook War in 1839, a boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick was cleared and iron markers were put in place three years later; the first mill opened at Rocky Brook in 1856. In 1860, the first school was established for the community of Mars Hill. Further development of the community was delayed until after the American Civil War; the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad arrived in 1892, allowing shipment of local produce to distant markets. In 1906, the White Mountain Telephone Company known as the Aroostook Telephone & Telegraph Company, opened a new office in Mars Hill.
A six-bed community hospital was established in 1912. In 1922, an intense fire devastated the business district in town. Mars Hill businesses were promptly rebuilt. In 1937 the Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library was opened. In the 1960s, Big Rock Ski Area was founded on Mars Hill Mountain. In 2006, Maine's first wind farm was installed along the top and northern side of Mars Hill Mountain. During and after World War II, the Mars Hill and surrounding economies were dominated by military spending. In 1947, the Limestone Army Air Field was built in Limestone, it was renamed the Loring Air Force Base. Aroostook County was chosen due to its strategic location as the closest point in the continental United States to Europe; the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure of Loring and the base closed in 1994. During the late 1950s, two hundred acres were purchased to develop a local recreation area, by 1960 the Big Rock Ski Area was opened. Bigrock Ski Center was purchased in 2000 by the Maine Winter Sports Center through grants by the Libra Foundation.
On March 27, 2007, a wind farm project was commissioned to be constructed on Mars Hill Mountain by First Wind, a Massachusetts renewable energy company. The Mars Hill Wind Farm was projected to have cost $85 million. A total of 28 General Electric 1.5 megawatt turbines were installed along the ridge and in the northern section of the mountain. The wind farm generates about 130 million kilowatt hours per year. With a capacity factor of 35%. Mars Hill Wind Farm was the first utility-scale facility in Maine, with projected capacity to produce enough electricity to power 20,000 homes. Mars Hill Wind Farm exports electricity to New Brunswick Power and has become an important component in the local economy; as of the census of 2010, there were 1,493 people, 614 households, 413 families residing in the town. The population density was 42.5 inhabitants per square mile. There were 687 housing units at an average density of 19.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.3% White, 0.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, 1.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 614 households of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 32.7% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the town was 44 years. 21% of residents were under the age of 18. The gender makeup of the town was 53.0 % female. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,480 people, 614 households, 413 families residing in the town; the population density was 42.1 people per square mile. There were 708 housing units at an average density of 20.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.50% White, 0.14% African American, 1.49% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.20% from other races, 0.47% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population. There were 614 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,083, the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $27,054 versus $19,500 for females; the per capita income for the town was $13,630. About 13.4% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarines for the Indian Navy. Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire six diesel-electric submarines, which will feature advanced air-independent propulsion systems to enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and increase their operational range. All six submarines are expected to be constructed in Indian shipyards. In 1997, Indian Ministry of Defence approved a plan to acquire 24 submarines under Project 75. After the Kargil War in 1999, Cabinet Committee on Security approved a 30-year submarine building plan that called for two parallel production lines, each constructing six submarines; the older Project 75 was brought under the new plan, with the two production lines to be built under Project 75 and Project 75I using transfer of technology from different foreign manufacturers. In 2008, it was reported that a Request for Information had been issued to Armaris, HDW and Rosoboronexport for six submarines with air-independent propulsion and land-attack capability that were to be built in India.
In July 2010, Defence Acquisition Council of Ministry of Defence decided to import two submarines, build three at Mazagon Dock and one at Hindustan Shipyard with a budget of ₹50,000 crore. After the project was approved by Defence Acquisition Council in August 2010, an RFI was issued again in September 2010. However, the Request for Proposal was not approved by Cabinet Committee on Security due to a difference of opinion between the navy and ministry on the involvement of private shipyards in the project; as a result, the approval lapsed and was renewed multiple times till 2013. In October 2014, the Defence Acquisition Council decided to construct all six submarines in India and approved a budget of ₹53,000 crore. Along with the state-owned Mazagon Dock, Hindustan Shipyard, Cochin Shipyard, privately-owned Larsen & Toubro and Pipavav Shipyard were allowed to bid for the project in collaboration with a foreign shipyard. Kockums, Naval Group and ThyssenKrupp responded to an RFI issued in 2017.
In June 2017, it was reported that the contract for construction would be awarded under "Strategic Partnership" policy, which would eliminate state-owned shipyards from contention. After the approval lapsed in February 2018, the Defence Acquisition Council renewed the approval with a budget of ₹40,000 crore in January 2019. In April 2019, an Expression of Interest was issued for six submarines capable of firing land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles. On 21 January 2020, the Indian government shortlisted Larsen & Toubro and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders as the two Indian firms and the five foreign manufacturers shortlisted by the government were ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Rubin Design Bureau, Naval Group, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering; the two Indian firms thus selected would have to tie up with one of the five foreign firms for the project. Submarines of the Indian Navy Future of the Indian Navy Cruise missile submarine Attack submarine Project 75, globalsecurity.org 19. Https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?