The DoD is looking to the space sector to launch its hypersonics.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that it had awarded two contracts to Varda Space Industries and Stratolaunch as providers for Task Area 3 of the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program, which focuses on reusable flight concepts for hypersonic missile tests.
“This award marks an important milestone in advancing the nation’s hypersonics testing ecosystem,” Tony Kestranek, VP of the program at the National Security Technology Accelerator sponsoring this program, said in a release. “By expanding into reusable and recoverable flight test solutions, MACH-TB 2.0 is enabling faster, more affordable, and data-rich testing that will accelerate innovation across the hypersonics community.”
The two companies will each leverage their expertise to meet program goals.
- Varda’s bringing its experience in building reentry vehicles to the table.
- Stratolaunch will bring its air-launched hypersonics platform.
Under the contracts, the two companies will provide reusable test vehicles as well as launch services for the MACH-TB program. That means carrying experiments and hypersonics tests with the goal of hardware reuse.
A raise on the side: In addition to its contract with the DoD, Stratolaunch is taking other strides to grow. The company announced Friday that it had completed a “significant capital raise” to accelerate its hypersonic launch platform development.
- Elliott Investment Management and Cerberus Capital Management contributed to the raise.
- Stratolaunch did not disclose the size of the funding round.
“The United States does not have time for incrementalism,” Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said in a release. “We’re building the infrastructure, vehicles, and flight capacity required to deliver hypersonic capability at a pace that matches the urgency of today’s threat environment.”
As a hypersonics launcher, it makes sense that Stratolaunch would emphasize the value of its tech and growth to serving US national security customers, and that’s the tone it’s striking with this raise. The funding will be used to accelerate vehicle development and manufacturing as the company plans to deepen its ties with the DoD.
