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Ursa Major

HardwareBerthoud, USAFounded 2015· One of 1644 Hardware companies tracked by AMPulse

A pure-play rocket propulsion company providing high-performance, 3D-printed liquid and solid rocket engines for space launch, defense, and hypersonic applications.

CEO / Founder
Chris Spagnoletti
Team Size
400+
Stage
Growth Stage
Total Funding
$442.7M
Latest Round
Series E
Key Investors
["Eclipse","RTX Ventures","BlackRock","Woodline Partners","Explorer 1 Fund","Principia Growth","XN","Alsop Louie Partners"]

Technology & Products

Key Products

["Hadley: 5,000-lbf oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) liquid engine","Ripley: 50,000-lbf ORSC liquid engine for medium-lift","Arroway: 200,000-lbf reusable methane/LOX engine for heavy-lift","Draper: 4,000-lbf storable liquid engine for hypersonic defense","Lynx: Digital manufacturing solution for Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs)","Mk 104: Next-generation solid rocket motor for the US Navy"]

Technological Advantage

Utilizes advanced metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) for over 80% of engine mass, enabling rapid design iterations, part count reduction, and the use of high-performance materials like NASA-developed GrCop-42 copper alloy.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

Accelerates mission timelines and reduces costs by providing reliable, off-the-shelf propulsion systems, allowing vehicle builders to bypass the high risk and expense of in-house engine development.

How They Differentiate

Operates as a 'merchant supplier' that does not build competing launch vehicles; utilizes advanced metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) for over 80% of engine mass to enable 10x faster production and rapid design iteration compared to legacy aerospace incumbents.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

Commercial launch providers, Department of Defense (DoD), hypersonic vehicle manufacturers, and government space agencies (NASA, AFRL).

Industry Verticals

["Aerospace","Defense","Hypersonics","Satellite Launch"]

Competitors

Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris), Northrop Grumman, X-Bow Systems

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

Scaled to over 400 employees; achieved record booking portfolio in 2025; successfully expanded from liquid propulsion into the Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) market.

Major Milestones

["Appointed Chris Spagnoletti as CEO in February 2026 to lead scaling efforts","Closed $100M Series E funding round in November 2025","Successfully completed multiple hypersonic flight tests in 2025","First flight of the Hadley liquid rocket engine in March 2024","Launched 'Lynx' digital manufacturing solution for Solid Rocket Motors in November 2023"]

Notable Customers

Stratolaunch, U.S. Navy, Kratos Defense, Phantom Space, Astra, BAE Systems