Ursa Major Technologies

[trimeta]

The unconfirmed rumor I've been hearing through the grapevine is that a major customer of theirs (smallsat launch not hypersonics) was seriously behind on payments (like 6 months behind), and either pulled the plug on them, or Ursa stopped work for the customer, and that was what led them to do the large layoff last week.

~Jon

I wonder what *cough*Astra*cough* company that could be, that's a known small-launch customer and also is themselves on the verge of running out of money.

[TrevorMonty]

The unconfirmed rumor I've been hearing through the grapevine is that a major customer of theirs (smallsat launch not hypersonics) was seriously behind on payments (like 6 months behind), and either pulled the plug on them, or Ursa stopped work for the customer, and that was what led them to do the large layoff last week.

~Jon

I wonder what *cough*Astra*cough* company that could be, that's a known small-launch customer and also is themselves on the verge of running out of money.

Phantom is also a smallsat launch customer.

[jongoff]

I wonder what *cough*Astra*cough* company that could be, that's a known small-launch customer and also is themselves on the verge of running out of money.

Actually, the rumor I heard wasn't about Astra, but a different small launch developer.

~Jon

[trimeta]

The unconfirmed rumor I've been hearing through the grapevine is that a major customer of theirs (smallsat launch not hypersonics) was seriously behind on payments (like 6 months behind), and either pulled the plug on them, or Ursa stopped work for the customer, and that was what led them to do the large layoff last week.

~Jon

I wonder what *cough*Astra*cough* company that could be, that's a known small-launch customer and also is themselves on the verge of running out of money.

Phantom is also a smallsat launch customer.

I hadn't really considered that Phantom (or C6 Launch) had gotten far enough along that their order book with Ursa Major was large enough to hurt should it go away, but based on Jon's reply, I guess it would have to be someone like them.

[Gliderflyer]

Looks like Phantom was ordering more than 200 engines: https://www.ursamajor.com/blog/more-than-200-ursa-major-rocket-engines-headed-to-phantom-space
[May 18, 2022]

[trimeta]

Looks like Phantom was ordering more than 200 engines: https://www.ursamajor.com/blog/more-than-200-ursa-major-rocket-engines-headed-to-phantom-space

Let's just say that with his history, I personally don't make a habit of believing anything Jim Cantrell says. It seems like Ursa major did, however, to their detriment.

[niwax]

Looks like Phantom was ordering more than 200 engines: https://www.ursamajor.com/blog/more-than-200-ursa-major-rocket-engines-headed-to-phantom-space

Let's just say that with his history, I personally don't make a habit of believing anything Jim Cantrell says. It seems like Ursa major did, however, to their detriment.

In my opinion, Ursa Major has always been in the business of selling credibility, not engines. Money was sloshing around for anyone with a presentation of a rocket, and engines are the most expensive long-lead item on that. A company could buy the right to claim they were just one or two years from flying by paying Ursa Major. Selling shovels in a gold rush and all that. Schemes like this have always existed, extracting money from questionable companies backed by gullible investors. Notably, OpenAI currently has several programs that let a startup present some progress without owning hardware, software or much of a product while extracting most of their capital.

Unfortunately when the money has dries up, their customers are wobbly businesses with a credibility deficit.

[TrevorMonty]

Looks like Phantom was ordering more than 200 engines: https://www.ursamajor.com/blog/more-than-200-ursa-major-rocket-engines-headed-to-phantom-space

Let's just say that with his history, I personally don't make a habit of believing anything Jim Cantrell says. It seems like Ursa major did, however, to their detriment.

With Cantrell I'd want a significant deposit in bank before starting work, otherwise it's a phantom order.

[AstroDave]

  Noticed that Ursa had job listings on its site for many weeks after the layoffs. Seems today, July 12, that they removed all of them except for the "General Interest" application.
  Layoffs are difficult to say the least. Really hope that those affected have been able to transition as smoothly as possible into new opportunities.
  Would be stoked to see Ursa's engines find a business case that keeps the company solvent. A tip of the cap to all the Ursa folks that invested their time and energy in making space more accessible.

[AstroDave]

Ursa posted some new jobs on their career website. Of interest are the positions for solid propellant engines.

1) SOLID ROCKET MOTOR (SRM) TECHNICAL LEAD
2) SOLID ROCKET MOTOR (SRM) COMPOSITES DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

Will be interesting to see any news releases about this new direction for company.

[Robotbeat]

Seems consistent with Draper. Transforming into an arms maker.

[trimeta]

Reminds me a bit of X-Bow Systems as well, they've been positioning themselves as the next great American solid rocket motor company for a while now.

[AstroDave]

Interesting question: Is focus on solids an in house requirement for current/near term projects, or broader strategic play based on market dynamics?

https://spacenews.com/anduril-acquires-solid-rocket-motor-manufacturer-adranos/

[russianhalo117]

Interesting question: Is focus on solids an in house requirement for current/near term projects, or broader strategic play based on market dynamics?

https://spacenews.com/anduril-acquires-solid-rocket-motor-manufacturer-adranos/

The US government is trying to grow the domestic solid propulsion base for all markets to counter the present M&A strategy, which in the current case has two major suppliers teetering in a balancing act on the to big to fail border of needing to be acquired to infuse stability. There is a global trend as well. GE Aerospace subsidiaries Avio Aero et al is another example of the M&A strategy.

[brussell]

Seems consistent with Draper. Transforming into an arms maker.

Draper as in Draper Lab? If you mean their Navy work, they've been an "arms maker" since the 1950s or earlier.

[russianhalo117]

Seems consistent with Draper. Transforming into an arms maker.

Draper as in Draper Lab? If you mean their Navy work, they've been an "arms maker" since the 1950s or earlier.

https://www.ursamajor.com/engines/draper

[Robotbeat]

Seems consistent with Draper. Transforming into an arms maker.

Draper as in Draper Lab? If you mean their Navy work, they've been an "arms maker" since the 1950s or earlier.

Draper as in the name of their storable rocket engine, not as in Draper Labs.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Brief promo with views of factory and hot fires:

[ClayJar]

"Inside Ursa Major's State-Of-The-Art Rocket Engine Factory!" from Everyday Astronaut

[JEF_300]

"Inside Ursa Major's State-Of-The-Art Rocket Engine Factory!" from Everyday Astronaut

At 9:48, he says their getting 340s isp on the test stand, from Hadley, which is an RP1/LOX engine. Wow.

EDIT: A bit later at the test stand, they say they have an error of up to 1% when calculating isp on the stand, so that could be as low as 337.6s Still not bad at all!