Ursa Major and Stratolaunch recently made significant progress towards the first flight test of a privately funded hypersonic vehicle. Ursa Major’s Hadley engine, designed to meet America’s commercial and national security space requirements, successfully powered Stratolaunch’s Talon-A1 (TA-1) testbed during a recent test over the Pacific Ocean. This groundbreaking test, reaching high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5, represents an important milestone in the development of a hypersonic vehicle by a private company.
Joe Laurienti, the founder and CEO of Ursa Major, emphasized the importance of this collaborative effort, comparing it to the impact that SpaceX had on the space launch industry. He stated that the successful test flight signifies a significant advancement in the realm of hypersonic flight, a challenge that has long been of great interest to military and government entities. Ursa Major’s Hadley engine, developed, built, and flown in under a decade, offers capabilities that support the U.S. Defense Department in deploying new mission solutions quickly and enhancing performance metrics such as speed, range, and payload capacity.
The Hadley engine, weighing 5,000 pounds and utilizing liquid oxygen and kerosene in an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle, is specifically designed for small vehicles. Its applications range from launching small payloads into orbit to powering hypersonic platforms. Ursa Major has already supplied numerous Hadley engines to customers involved in space launch, hypersonics, and in-space missions. What sets Ursa Major apart is its use of innovative 3D printing technology, which expedites the manufacturing process, enabling the company to construct engines within a matter of days.
Hadley is just the beginning of a range of propulsion systems that Ursa Major is developing, including liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors. As a key player in the U.S. defense industrial base, Ursa Major leads the way in providing reusable, high-performing propulsion systems to commercial space enterprises, defense contractors, and the Department of Defense. The company’s headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado, is a unique facility that houses engineering, manufacturing, and test operations, all under one roof.
For media inquiries or further information about Ursa Major, please contact Claude Chafin at chafin@invariantgr.com. Visit the company’s website for more details and stay updated on their latest achievements and developments in rocket propulsion technology.
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