Sierra Space Closes $550M Series C

Sierra Space announced a $550M Series C today, joining the growing ranks of space companies to close a multi-hundred-million-dollar raise this year.

LuminArx Capital led the round, which valued the company at $8B. Other existing investors also participated in the Series C, which will help Sierra Space boost its production capacity and “pursue growth opportunities beyond its current satellite and spacecraft mission programs,” according to a press release.

“Sierra Space has sharpened its focus toward national security customers by advancing solutions that strengthen American space and defense leadership, positioning the company for its next phase of growth,” Sierra Space Board Chair Fatih Ozmen said in the statement.

Rewind: Sierra Space announced its $290M Series B at a $5.3B valuation in September 2023—with that money intended to help the company boost production of its Dream Chaser spaceplane and to invest in its Orbital Reef commercial space station bid in partnership with Blue Origin. Today, however, Dream Chaser still hasn’t made its first spaceflight (it’s set to take off later this year) and Orbital Reef is not seen as a potential leader to replace the ISS with a commercial platform.

In the years since its Series B, Sierra Space has pivoted to focus on serving national security space customers, standing up a defense division of the company last year. The company says it has won more than $1.5B in defense contracts since 2023, including work with the SDA and Space Force.

New leadership: The funding round is the second major piece of news for Sierra Space in the past week. Last Thursday, Dan Jablonsky was named as the new Sierra Space CEO. Jablonsky, who previously led Ursa Major and Maxar Technologies, will help the company in the “next phase of growth across national security, defense, civil, and commercial space markets,” according to a press release.