Ursa Major Technologies

[jongoff]

So is Jongoff onto something here?

https://twitter.com/rocketrepreneur/status/1448776451218558979?s=21

It would be awesome if I was.

Jon

[TrevorMonty]

1-2x Ripley are right size for US plus add a couple Rutherfords for orbital maneuvers.

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

[jongoff]

So is Jongoff onto something here?

https://twitter.com/rocketrepreneur/status/1448776451218558979?s=21

It would be awesome if I was.

Jon

It'll be interesting to see tomorrow morning if my speculation was right.

~Jon

[Davidthefat]

I don't doubt that. I know there were talks of RL purchasing engines from AJRD, SpaceX, or even Firefly on the thread specific to Neutron speculation? 100% if RL were to purchase any engines, it would be from Ursa Major. May I even say they may be purchasing Ursa Major outright given the recent acquisitions they have been doing.

Acquisition of Ursa Major Technologies with the upcoming IPO money? Still providing the engines from Ursa to customers and keep all Rutherford and related IP in house while still being an engine supplier. May be use the Ripley engines for Neutron.

Much more likely than buying from SpaceX/Firefly/Aerojet Rocketdyne.

In order of the likelihood of what will actually happen:

1) Rocket Lab develops new engine for Neutron.
2) Rocket Lab buys out Ursa Major Technologies and uses Ursa engines.
3) Rocket Lab buys engines from Ursa Major.
4) Rocket Lab buys from other providers.

[jongoff]

Dang, unless I misunderstood something from their update, it looks like Rocket Lab is doing the Neutron's Archimedes engines in-house.

~Jon

[JEF_300]

Dang, unless I misunderstood something from their update, it looks like Rocket Lab is doing the Neutron's Archimedes engines in-house.

~Jon

That was my understanding.

[trimeta]

A recent Series C investment round netted $85 million. Also, Ursa Major Technologies claims to have "more than 50 engines" in back orders. No meaningful new information about potential customers, since Stratolaunch, Phantom Space, and Generation Orbit were already known (in fact, C6 Launch is notably absent here), although more vague customers like "defense prime contractors, the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Manufacturing Institutes" are listed.

https://spacenews.com/rocket-engine-supplier-ursa-major-raises-85-million-in-new-funding-round/

[su27k]

Ursa Major says its Hadley engine supports vertical launch and hypersonic uses

Startup Ursa Major announced Wednesday that it had completed qualification of its Hadley rocket engine for use by both a space launch vehicle and a hypersonic launch system. The Colorado-based company said it has already started delivering flight-ready Hadley engines to two customers, Phantom Space and Stratolaunch, and plans to produce a total of 30 engines this year.

The Hadley engine is relatively small as rocket engines go, with about 5,000 pounds of thrust. At that performance level, the Hadley is comparable to Rocket Lab's Rutherford engine, nine of which power the first stage of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.

In its announcement, Ursa Major touted the versatility of the Hadley engine being used in two different environments. Phantom Space is developing its Daytona rocket as a small-lift booster, using seven Hadley engines in its first stage to lift up to 450 kg to low Earth orbit. A single, vacuum-optimized Hadley engine will power the upper stage. Phantom says it is booking launches for 2023.

Stratolaunch, by contrast, has built the world's largest aircraft, with a 385-foot (117 m) wingspan. Known as Roc, the aircraft recently completed its fourth test flight and reached an altitude of 15,000 feet (4.6 km). This massive carrier aircraft will be used to launch the rocket-powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicles, which will serve as a test bed for hypersonic research. Stratolaunch plans to begin test flights this year and offer commercial and government service in 2023.

[ParabolicSnark]

Post on LinkedIn

Today, our partners at Phantom Space announced an order for over 200 Hadley and Ripley engines for launches between 2023 and 2026.
 
Phantom’s Daytona rocket, powered by our Hadley engine, will begin integrated hot-fire testing later this summer, ahead of a 2023 launch.
 
This is a major step for us and Phantom, and it represents a new way to access space quickly, affordably, and reliably. The traditional process of launch organizations buying Russian or Ukrainian engines is no longer possible because of the war, and building engines in-house incurs great expense and technical risk.
 
Our CEO and Founder Joe Laurienti had this to say:
 
"Together, Ursa Major and Phantom Space are proving to private launch companies and government organizations alike that they’re no longer stymied by outdated, and now unavailable, rocket engines. We invite the U.S. space industry to reimagine their programs with the revolutionary assumption that they have virtually on-demand access to domestically made, high-performing, affordable, and reliable propulsion.” 
 
We can’t wait to get started. Ad astra!

Release on PR News Wire

Under the terms of the agreement, Ursa Major will supply hundreds of its Hadley engines in different configurations including ground test and upper-stage vacuum variants, as well as numerous Ripley engines for planned upgrades to the Daytona vehicle.

Phantom will use the 5,000-lbf Hadley and the 50,000-lbf Ripley in launch configurations optimized for cost, performance, time-to-market, and reliability. The first iteration of Daytona will have nine Hadley engines for its first stage and a single Hadley for its upper stage. An upgraded Daytona will debut in 2024 using a single Ripley engine on the first stage with a Hadley engine for the upper stage. The larger Laguna rocket, set for 2025, will be powered by a combination of Ripley and Hadley engines to increase the mass performance of the vehicle.

200 engines is quite a substantial order and delivering them over 5 years will be a new scaling challenge for Ursa. That's about an engine every week. I'm sure they can manufacture multiple units in parallel, so I expect the challenge in how fast they can integrate the engine and acceptance test it on their test stand.

[Daniels30]

URSA MAJOR ANNOUNCES NEW ENGINE TO DISPLACE NOW UNAVAILABLE RUSSIAN-MADE PROPULSION SOURCES: Arroway Methalox FRSC 200k IBF Engine

https://www.ursamajor.com/media/press-release/ursa-major-announces-heavy-launch-rocket-engine-arroway

Arroway website:
https://www.ursamajor.com/engines/arroway


Side note: I adore the homage to Eleanor Arroway from 'Contact'.

[Cheapchips]

I assume there's a reason for the matt black finish other than looking cool?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1532280553713836032

BIG news—meet Arroway, our newest engine.

✅200K-lb thrust liquid oxygen and methane staged-combustion engine

✅For medium to heavy launch markets

✅Will displace the RD-180 and RD-181 (when clustered)

✅Available to order now, delivery in 2025 ursamajor.com/media/press-re…

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1532328969651073024

Which US launch companies do you think are potential customers for this engine? Not SpaceX. Not Blue Origin. Maybe ULA or Northrop or another startup looking to move into medium-lift?

[Robotbeat]

I assume there's a reason for the matt black finish other than looking cool?

increases emissivity and allows a consistent emissivity without specular reflection, so you can get very accurate temperature measurements with thermal IR cameras.

[jstrotha0975]

Would these work for Antares? They would need to source a lower stage as well.

[Zed_Noir]

Would these work for Antares? They would need to source a lower stage as well.

Hmm, a new engine and a new core with MethoLox propellants.

That is basically a new rocket. Should also have a new name.

However could replaced the Antares launcher with possibly more customers. As long as they don't have a single burn solid upper stage with low specific impulse.

[TrevorMonty]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

[trimeta]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there speculation for a while that Neutron would launch from the exact same pad as Antares? Not sure if that's still the case, but whichever pad gets methane infrastructure for Neutron would be a potential launch site for a vehicle using this engine.

[TrevorMonty]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there speculation for a while that Neutron would launch from the exact same pad as Antares? Not sure if that's still the case, but whichever pad gets methane infrastructure for Neutron would be a potential launch site for a vehicle using this engine.

Neutron will be nearby but needs new launch facilities.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

[niwax]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there speculation for a while that Neutron would launch from the exact same pad as Antares? Not sure if that's still the case, but whichever pad gets methane infrastructure for Neutron would be a potential launch site for a vehicle using this engine.

Neutron will be nearby but needs new launch facilities.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Speaking of, these would be an option for significantly accelerating Neutron development. Thrust is pretty bang on for Archimedes, and they are likely more efficient.

[TrevorMonty]

RL want to keep engines inhouse, gives them more control of their destiny. Both NG and ULA have suffered because they relied on external suppliers.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk