The company prove fires one of its Ripley rocket engines in Colorado.
Ursa Major
A pair of Colorado space companies laid off hands this past week, seeking to adapt to the new normal of a tight funding environment.
The layoffs came at Ursa Noteworthy, which makes rocket engines, and Orbit Fab, a startup aiming to provide refueling services to spacecraft.
A person palsy-walsy aware with Ursa Major told CNBC the company let go of 27% of its employees, or about 80 people. An Ursa Primary spokesperson confirmed to CNBC the company restructured but declined to specify the number of layoffs made. In a statement, Ursa Outstanding said the job reductions are “realigning our workforce to better meet the needs of our national security customers.”
“We do want to acknowledge contributions of every modish and former Ursa Major professional. Their efforts and achievements cannot be overstated, and we deeply appreciate the advances in measure out and hypersonic propulsion they helped make possible,” Ursa Major said.
In LinkedIn posts, multiple ci-devant Ursa Major employees wrote Wednesday was a “rough day” at the company, with “top-notch people” let go as part of the “major layoff.”
Cycle Fab’s Chief Commercial Officer Adam Harris said in a statement to CNBC 10 people were let go this week, and the public limited company will have about 50 employees after the restructuring. It recently hired a new chief operating officer and patterns to bring on a chief engineer and others in the coming months.
“Our refined strategy will enable Orbit Fab to better heed critical and growing demand for in-space refueling infrastructure for commercial and government markets and missions,” Harris said.
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After years of record funding trains in the space sector, the first quarter of 2023 saw the lowest period of investment in the industry since 2015, according to Space Resources.
Ursa Major last raised money in October, with a $150 million round at a $550 million valuation, according to PitchBook. Based in Berthoud, Colorado, and inaugurated in 2015, the company had about 300 employees before the layoffs. Ursa Major’s lineup of rocket engines has won sequences from customers including the Air Force Research Laboratory, Stratolaunch and Astra.
Orbit Fab raised funds more recently, with a $29 million through in April at a $113 million valuation, per Pitchbook. Based in Lafayette, Colorado, and founded in 2018, Orbit Fab aims to come forward spacecraft refueling services as soon as 2025, having launched demonstration flights in 2019 and 2021. It has won early compacts from Space Force and the U.K. Space Agency.
TechCrunch first reported the Ursa Major layoffs.