Ursa Major has signed a $32.9-million deal to assemble and supply advanced rocket engines for Stratolaunch.
The package includes 16 engines based on the Colorado-based firm’s Hadley H13 technology that will be delivered in support of Stratolaunch’s hypersonic test projects.
Stratolaunch is a contracting partner of the US Navy’s Multiservice Advanced Capability Test Bed (MACH-TB) initiative, which gathers data on high-speed flights for the development of future aircraft and weapons.
Ursa Major highlighted that the Hadley H13 propulsion is a mission-upgraded system that promotes sustainability and reusability, offering cost-effective launches while ensuring alignment with user objectives and mission profiles.
The engine has already powered several hypersonic flights of the MACH-TB program’s testbed vehicle Talon-A, an aircraft designed for speeds over Mach 5 (6,174 kilometers/3,836 miles per hour).
The Talon-A is also part of the Missile Defense Agency’s separate trials on next-generation air defense solutions to deter evolving adversarial hypersonic weapons.
“This contract directly supports US hypersonic test infrastructure and the broader imperative to accelerate high-speed flight programs that deliver for national security,” Ursa Major CEO Dan Jablonsky commented on the latest deal.
“As the proud partner and hypersonic propulsion provider to Stratolaunch, we’re focused on getting real capability into the field – faster, at scale, and without compromising performance.”
