The corporate test fires certainly one of its Ripley rocket engines in Colorado.
Ursa Major
A pair of Colorado space corporations laid off employees this past week, searching for to adapt to the brand new normal of a decent funding environment.
The layoffs got here at Ursa Major, which makes rocket engines, and Orbit Fab, a startup aiming to supply refueling services to spacecraft.
An individual aware of Ursa Major told CNBC the corporate let go of 27% of its employees, or about 80 people. An Ursa Major spokesperson confirmed to CNBC the corporate restructured but declined to specify the variety of layoffs made. In an announcement, Ursa Major said the job reductions are “realigning our workforce to higher meet the needs of our national security customers.”
“We do wish to acknowledge contributions of each current and former Ursa Major skilled. Their efforts and achievements can’t be overstated, and we deeply appreciate the advances in space and hypersonic propulsion they helped make possible,” Ursa Major said.
In LinkedIn posts, multiple former Ursa Major employees wrote Wednesday was a “rough day” at the corporate, with “top-notch people” let go as a part of the “major layoff.”
Orbit Fab’s Chief Industrial Officer Adam Harris said in an announcement to CNBC 10 people were let go this week, and the corporate could have about 50 employees after the restructuring. It recently hired a recent chief operating officer and plans to bring on a chief engineer and others in the approaching months.
“Our refined strategy will enable Orbit Fab to higher meet critical and growing demand for in-space refueling infrastructure for industrial and government markets and missions,” Harris said.
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After years of record funding levels within the space sector, the primary quarter of 2023 saw the bottom period of investment within the industry since 2015, in keeping with Space Capital.
Ursa Major last raised money in October, with a $150 million round at a $550 million valuation, in keeping with PitchBook. Based in Berthoud, Colorado, and founded in 2015, the corporate had about 300 employees before the layoffs. Ursa Major’s lineup of rocket engines has won orders from customers including the Air Force Research Laboratory, Stratolaunch and Astra.
Orbit Fab raised funds more recently, with a $29 million round in April at a $113 million valuation, per Pitchbook. Based in Lafayette, Colorado, and founded in 2018, Orbit Fab goals to supply spacecraft refueling services as soon as 2025, having launched demonstration flights in 2019 and 2021. It has won early contracts from Space Force and the U.K. Space Agency.
TechCrunch first reported the Ursa Major layoffs.