Ursa Major and U.S. Navy Make $25 Million Joint Investment in New Solid Rocket Motor Prototype

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Sep 17, 2024, 10:00 ET

Ursa Major to expand rocket motor capabilities with $12.5 million joint investment from U.S. Navy and Office of Strategic Capital

DENVER, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ursa Major, the United States' leading privately funded rocket propulsion company, will receive funding from the Department of Defense (DoD) as one of the inaugural recipients of investments from the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) to strengthen critical supply chain technologies needed for national security. The $12.5 million investment represents a partnership between OSC and the U.S. Navy to mature Ursa Major's Lynx solid rocket motor (SRM) manufacturing process under OSC's Transition Acceleration Program. Ursa Major will match the DoD investment to a total $25 million expansion of the company's SRM capabilities.

A solid rocket motor developed by Ursa Major is preparing to be tested at its Berthoud, Colorado campus. Ursa Major announced today it is making a joint investment with the US Navy and Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital in developing a Navy SRM prototype.

Ursa Major's investment will be used to complete an OSD(R&E) Advanced Manufacturing Pathfinder program for the design, manufacture, and test of a SRM prototype in direct support of Program Executive Officer (PEO) Integrated Weapon Systems (IWS). Ursa Major is currently developing a second source Mk104 Dual Thrust Rocket Motor (DTRM) for the Navy under a separate award.

OSC was established to increase investments in priority critical technology areas for national security. Ursa Major will focus the investment on advancing manufacturing capability in the areas of propellant manufacturing, additive manufacturing, and composite case winding in support of SRMs for national security missions.

"We are proud to work with OSC on their mandate for expanding the defense industrial base by bringing new innovations into the DoD ecosystem," said Dan Jablonsky, Ursa Major CEO. "Ursa Major is revolutionizing manufacturing approaches used in propulsion development in the United States, building flexibility of production and scalability into manufacturing for our defense customers."

This project is a partnership between Ursa Major and the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.

About Ursa Major
Ursa Major is America's leading privately funded company focusing solely on rocket propulsion, bringing high-performance, staged combustion liquid engines to market for space, launch, and hypersonic uses while deploying a novel manufacturing process to scale solid rocket motor production. Ursa Major customers, ranging from commercial space launch providers to enterprise-level aerospace and defense leaders as well as the U.S. government, get to flight faster, more reliably and cost-effectively. The company employs the most sought-after engineers from top aerospace programs and universities. Headquartered in Berthoud, Colorado, with additive manufacturing facilities in Youngstown, Ohio, Ursa Major was named one of the best places to work by Built in Colorado three years in a row. For more information, visit www.ursamajor.com. For downloadable images and videos, click here.

Media Contact: Ursa Major | [email protected]

SOURCE Ursa Major Technologies