• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • News
  • Featured
  • More News ⌄
    • SatNews
    • SatMagazine
    • MilSatMagazine
  • Events ⌄
    • MilSat Symposium
    • SmallSat Symposium
    • Satellite Innovation
  • Contacts
  • SUBSCRIPTION

SmallSat News

You are here: Home / News / Ursa Major to provide upper stage rocket engines for Astra’s Rocket 4

Ursa Major to provide upper stage rocket engines for Astra’s Rocket 4

April 25, 2023 by editorial

Ursa Major has an agreement with Astra that will support nexgen comms, national security and defense, as well as EO.

Under the agreement, Ursa Major will provide “Hadley” engines for the upper stage of Astra’s Launch System 2 on that firm’s newly architected, higher-capacity, Rocket 4 launch vehicle. Launch System 2 is designed for customers that need affordable, frequent, and reliable orbital launch, deploying spacecraft directly into operational orbits.

Launch System 2’s upper stage will use the vacuum variant of Hadley, an oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) engine fueled by liquid kerosene. The vacuum variant of Hadley provides 6,500 pounds of thrust, compared to Hadley’s sea-level configuration, which provides 5,000 pounds of thrust. To enable longer missions, Hadley features an ignition system capable of multiple restarts.

Reliable rocket propulsion is critical to maintaining the space supply chain and growing the space industry. Ursa Major focuses solely on propulsion to lower the cost and risks of the most expensive, time-consuming, and risky aspect of space launch. Ursa Major’s flexible rocket engines can be used for various missions, from air launch to hypersonic flight and on-orbit missions.

“The Ursa Major-Astra partnership marks an important industry milestone in outsourcing propulsion to unlock growth and innovation for launch providers and their customers. We’re excited to be a part of Astra’s Launch System 2 and the company’s next chapter of success.” — Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major

Ursa Major is focusing solely on rocket propulsion, bringing high-performance, staged combustion engines to market for space launch and hypersonic applications. Ursa Major customers, ranging from “New Space” startups to enterprise-level aerospace leaders and the U.S. government, get to flight faster, more reliably, and cost-effectively.

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019

© 2019–2025 SatNews

x
Sign Up Now!

Enjoy a free weekly newsletter with recent headlines from the global SmallSat industry.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing! You will now receive weekly SmallSat News updates.
We love our advertisers.
And you will too!

Please disable Ad Blocker to continue... We promise to keep it unobtrusive.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.