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In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, with an elevation one mile closer to space than sea level, lies an area that's home to a burgeoning cluster of aerospace businesses. Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor traveled to space on a Blue Origin flight in 2021. For Voyager, that's been true. For Taylor, who has been to space himself after a trip on Blue Origin's New Shepard, the Denver-Boulder space story extends beyond Voyager too. Denver area startup Orbit Fab is building refueling ports for satellites that will allow them to fuel up in space.

Persons: Dylan Taylor, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Jeff Bezos, Morgan Brennan, Sen, John Hickenlooper, Hickenlooper, that's, Taylor, Shepard, He's, Northrop, Daniel Faber, Orbit, Faber Organizations: Buckley Space Force, CNBC, Aerospace, Colorado Space Coalition, Voyager, Denver . Voyager, AFP, Getty, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop, Launch Alliance, BAE Systems, Space, Space Station, Airbus, Mitsubishi, Northrop Grumman, AAA Locations: Colorado, CNBC's, Rocky, Denver, Boulder, California, Silicon Valley

Amid preparations for its spaceplane's maiden flight and an initial public offering as soon as next year, Sierra Space is expanding its satellite offerings. "We've actually been waiting for six months, so it's like, this [name], we really thought about it," Tom Vice, Sierra Space chief executive said in an interview for CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast. Valued at $5.3 billion as of September, Sierra Space was spun out of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation three years ago. Sierra Space touts a diverse space and defense tech portfolio spanning space transportation, space habitation, propulsion and satellites. It's perhaps best known for its NASA-contracted, reusable spaceplane Dream Chaser which will run cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station and eventually carry humans to and from orbit.

Persons: We've, Tom Vice, Eren, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Space, Sierra Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Fatih, NASA, International Space Station, Pentagon, U.S, FAA

☆ Investing in Space: Boeing takes backup role in flying NASA astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Boeing's Starliner program finally feels close to flying people in space for the first time. It was originally planned to launch this crew flight test in November 2018. On the eve of flying crew, Boeing's messaging is now closer to "NASA wants us as backup and we're not committing beyond that." The additionally unfortunate aspect of this situation is that none of these years of setbacks and cost overruns seem to have lit a fire under Boeing's space management.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Boeing's, we're, Starliner, it's, SpaceX's Dragon, Boeing's Starliner, Mark Nappi, Nappi Organizations: ISS, Boeing, SpaceX, NASA

NASA awarded Blue Origin $172 million to develop a space station for both astronauts and tourists. The space station, called Orbital Reef, will need to be able to support human life. AdvertisementThe International Space Station won't be around forever, and NASA is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its potential replacements. One promising candidate is Orbital Reef — a joint venture between Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin and Sierra Space. "Think spacious modules with large windows to view Earth, our blue origin, while experiencing the thrill of weightlessness in complete comfort," Blue Origin states on its website.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos's, Angela Hart, Chris Hadfield, Matthias Maurer, Blue, Thomas Pesquet, Hart, Artemis, George Scott, NASA's, NASA It's, Biden, there's Organizations: NASA, Service, Origin, NASA's, ISS, Space Station, Space, International, ESA, Artemis, Soyuz, Shepard

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts headed to the International Space Station on Sunday where they will oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships during their half-year stint. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin. “When are you getting here already?” space station commander Andreas Mogensen asked via X, formerly Twitter, after three days of delay due to high wind. Epps should have launched to the space station on a Russian rocket in 2018, but was replaced for reasons never publicly disclosed. Flight controllers are monitoring a growing cabin leak on Russia’s side of the space station.

Persons: Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin, “, Andreas Mogensen, Epps, Billy Joel, Dominick, Barratt, ” Barratt, Joel Montalbano Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, NASA, Sierra, Ford Motor Co, CIA, Navy, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, U.S, Denmark, Japan, Russia, New York, Syracuse, N.Y, Russian

☆ Investing in Space: Pentagon's satellite constellation awards near $10 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Now we're pushing $10 billion in awards, to build more than 400 satellites, with seven companies in the mix. York Space has been tapped to make more satellites than anyone but Northrop Grumman, to the tune of $1.3 billion. – The Wall Street Journal / Deere Hyperspectral satellite imagery company Pixxel opens Bengaluru facility, a 30,000-square-foot facility in India for satellite manufacturing. – KeyBancBoldly goingKurt Vogel named as NASA associate administrator for the agency's space technology directorate, effective immediately, previously having been the director of space architectures at the agency. – NASAfor the agency's space technology directorate, effective immediately, previously having been the director of space architectures at the agency.

Persons: Yasin Ozturk, CNBC's Michael Sheetz, – Northrop, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, you've, Momentus, John Plumb, –, Artemis, – SpacePolicyOnline, Tom Mueller's, Redwire, KeyBanc, Kurt Vogel, Chiara Pedersoli, Marco Fuchs, – OHB, – OHB Frank Di Pentino Organizations: SpaceX, . Space Force, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Space Force, Space Development Agency, – Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, York, Space, Lab, Sierra Space, CNBC, CNBC NASA, Boeing, NASA, NASA ESA, Science, Technology, Industry, ISS, – NASA SpaceX, Deere, Street, Deere Deere, KKR Locations: Cape, Florida, United States, U.S, Brazil, Bengaluru, India

☆ Pentagon awards $2.5 billion in satellite contracts to L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Space
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Pentagon on Tuesday announced about $2.5 billion in contracts will go to L3Harris , Lockheed Martin , and Sierra Space to build satellites for an expanding military system. These satellites will be for the "Tranche 2 Tracking Layer" of the satellite constellation, related to missile defense. Under the awards, each company will build 18 satellites — 16 for missile warnings and tracking, and two with missile defense infrared sensors. The fixed-price contracts are worth $919 million for L3Harris, $890 million for Lockheed Martin, and $740 million for Sierra Space, respectively. PWSA is a constellation designed to have hundreds of satellites in orbit, for greater resiliency and redundancy than previous U.S. military satellites.

Persons: Lockheed Martin's, Lockheed Martin, Derek Tournear Organizations: Lockheed, Pentagon, Sierra Space, Development Agency Locations: L3Harris, U.S

☆ Sierra Space lays off hundreds in push toward first Dream Chaser spaceplane launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former Sierra Space employees told CNBC that the layoffs included a significant number of contractors, with the cuts including hundreds of personnel in total. Sierra Space this week shipped the first Dream Chaser, named Tenacity, for pre-launch testing at NASA's Armstrong facility in Ohio. The first Dream Chaser launch was previously scheduled for late last year, but delays in the development of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket pushed back that timeline. Dream Chaser is planned to launch on ULA's second Vulcan mission, with the first Vulcan launch targeting December. Dream Chaser has won NASA contracts to fly seven cargo missions to and from the International Space Station.

Persons: Eren, Sierra, Jeff Babione, Gupta Organizations: CNBC, Sierra Space, NASA's Armstrong, Sierra, Sierra Nevada Corp, Fatih, Sierra Space's, Space, NASA Space Shuttle, United, Vulcan, NASA, International Space Locations: The Colorado, Sierra, Ohio

The July-September period, which analysts usually see it as a weak quarter, saw a 17% rise in funding to $3 billion for 103 companies, venture capital firm Space Capital said in the report. The upbeat figures could mean that investors are returning to startups that could tap government funding and develop tech crucial to space programs. The companies funded in the third quarter included Axiom Space which raised $350 million, and Sierra Space which saw an inflow of $290 million. "Despite continued headwinds in financial markets, the world is waking up to the importance of space-based technologies," Space Capital said. Reporting by Jaspreet Singh and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jaspreet Singh, Akash Sriram, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Space Capital, Investments, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Investing in Space: Trust NASA's private orbital station development process
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio peers out of a window aboard the SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom while docked to the International Space Station. I don't know if NASA's Angela Hart is a Sixers fan, but her take on the current landscape of private space station development matches the "trust the process" rallying cry that the Philadelphia basketball team made so famous. And I agree with Hart, NASA's top commercial space station official: It's early days of companies taking the lead on orbital research habitats. To rewind a bit here: The International Space Station is expected to retire in 2030, so NASA is helping fund development of next-generation orbital habitats. With all that said, three key facts in the private space station landscape haven't changed:

Persons: Frank Rubio, CNBC's Michael Sheetz, NASA's Angela Hart, Hart, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin Organizations: NASA, International Space, Sixers, Philadelphia basketball, Cargo, Voyager, Airbus, Lockheed, Origin, Blue, SpaceX Locations: U.S

☆ Exclusive: Bezos' Blue Origin expects split on space station partnership -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Blue Origin spokesperson said Sierra will remain a partner on Orbital Reef but declined to say in what capacity. Last week, Bezos told Blue Origin employees that longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp would replace Blue Origin's current CEO by year's end. In 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisions as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. Blue Origin secured $3.4 billion from NASA this year for that lander as part of the agency's Artemis program. Blue Origin said at the time it planned to privately invest "well north" of that amount.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Jeff Bezos, Sierra, Brent Sherwood, Sherwood, Bezos, Dave Limp, Glenn, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sierra Space, NASA, Space, CNBC, Blue Origin, Amazon, year's, Sierra Nevada Corp, Origin, Industry, Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S

☆ Blue Origin, Sierra Space weigh future of Orbital Reef space station as partnership turns rocky
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Orbital Reef space station partnership between Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Sierra Space is on rocky footing, CNBC has learned. The companies announced Orbital Reef as a co-led project in 2021, but updates about the project dried up in the past year. It's becoming increasingly likely that Blue Origin and Sierra Space will go their separate ways, leaving behind joint efforts to develop Orbital Reef, according to those sources. Shortly after unveiling the Orbital Reef project, Blue Origin won a $130 million contract from NASA for design work on the private space station. "Our team is currently testing window frames and materials in a relevant space environment," Blue Origin said, without mentioning Orbital Reef by name.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, It's, Rebecca Wickes, Wickes, Sierra Organizations: CNBC, Space, Origin, NASA, Sierra

☆ Japan's MUFG Bank, two others lead $290 mln Sierra Space fundraising -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - MUFG Bank is among three Japanese firms leading a $290-million fundraising round for U.S. spaceship company Sierra Space, spearheading a commercial "spaceport" project in the southwestern region of Oita, the Nikkei daily said on Tuesday. A spokesperson of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire, a unit of Tokio Marine Holdings (8766.T), confirmed that the three companies formed a strategic partnership with Sierra, but declined to elaborate on their investments. Sierra Space, spun off in 20221 from billionaire-owned Sierra Nevada Corp, is among a handful of space industry players attempting to build a private space station that NASA hopes will replace the two decade-old International Space Station by 2030. The Oita project took a hit this year from the bankruptcy of another U.S. space company Virgin Orbit , which had partnered with airline ANA Holdings (9202.T). MUFG Bank, one of Japan's three biggest, has invested in domestic space startups such as orbital debris-removal firm Astroscale.

Persons: Sierra, inc's, Kantaro Komiya, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: MUFG, Space, Nikkei, SpaceX, MUFG Bank, Tokio Marine, Tokio Marine Holdings, Sierra, Mitsubishi UFJ, Kanematsu Corp, CNBC, Sierra Nevada Corp, NASA, Japan Airlines, Orbit, ANA Holdings, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Japan Aerospace Exploration, SLIM, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Oita, Sierra, Kanematsu, Asia's, Japan

☆ Sierra Space raising nearly $300 million from Japanese consortium at $5 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sierra Space, the subsidiary of private aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, is finalizing a raise of nearly $300 million, CNBC has learned. Sierra Space expects to announce the raise as soon as this week, those people said. Two years ago, Sierra Space raised $1.4 billion at a $4.5 billion valuation from investors including General Atlantic, BlackRock, AE Industrial Partners, Coatue and Moore Strategic Ventures. The fresh funds come as Sierra Space focuses on getting its Dream Chaser spaceplane flying. Sierra Space is also one of several companies working on a private space station.

Persons: MUFG Organizations: Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation, CNBC, Sierra, Tokio Marine, Citigroup, General Atlantic, Partners, Coatue, Moore Strategic Ventures, NASA Space Shuttle, United, Vulcan Locations: Tokio, BlackRock

☆ Redwire and Sierra team up to make drugs in space on inflatable habitat’s first mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An ADSEP with blue PIL-BOXs, hardware which will be delivered to Sierra Space for the LIFE habitat pathfinder mission. Space infrastructure company Redwire is putting a biotech technology test bed on Sierra Space's first mission with its inflatable space habitat, establishing a new partnership between the two companies to make drugs in orbit. "It's an incredible moment for Redwire, an incredible moment for Sierra," Mike Gold, Redwire's chief growth officer, told CNBC. Redwire is not alone in targeting that market, with startups like Varda and Space Forge also working on such test beds. The idea is to manufacture drugs in space, leveraging the environment to create unique materials, that would be returned for use on Earth.

Persons: Mike Gold, Varda Organizations: Space, LIFE, pathfinder, CNBC, Space Forge Locations: Space's, Space

☆ Sierra Space taps veteran Boeing lobbyist to helm new government strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Sierra Nevada Corp's space unit, Sierra Space, has tapped Boeing's former top lobbyist to lead a new, more aggressive government relations shop as the company courts government customers for its planned commercial space station. Tim Keating, a veteran political strategist who pushed Boeing through numerous procurement campaigns for over a decade, joined Sierra in early March as its Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Government Operations, Keating told Reuters. Sierra Space, owned by billionaire couple Fatih and Eren Ozmen, is one of a handful of space industry players attempting to build a private space station that NASA hopes will replace the two decade-old International Space Station by 2030. "It wasn't really the emphasis, and now we're going to build out a team," Keating, who was also senior vice president of global government relations at Honeywell, said in an interview. Partnering with billionaire Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Sierra sees NASA and other countries' space agencies as crucial early customers for its planned space station, a massive orbital research lab and tourist destination dubbed Orbital Reef.

☆ Investing in Space: The space station kingmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Several U.S. companies are working to build new orbiting habitats to replace the aging International Space Station. NASA's role in seeding the fledgling market was a hot topic at the FAA's space conference last week. Four private space stations are vying to get online by the time that happens:Axiom Space and Northrop Grumman"Starlab" is under development by Voyager Space and subsidiary Nanoracks alongside Airbus. These days, it's been doling out funds to the four space station projects.

☆ Biden administration drafting executive order to simplify space rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, has signaled her intention to codify new rules for private space activities, but the plan for the executive order has not been reported. The executive order is considered an early step to simplify existing regulations before new rules take shape. Companies like Blue Origin, Axiom Space and others are developing private space stations with unclear procedures for how they can court foreign governments as customers or execute their missions in space. Private space stations like Orbital Reef, which Blue Origin is developing with Boeing and Sierra Space, could be deployed by 2030. White House officials have held several "listening sessions" with space companies since Nov. 14 to discuss what rules the space industry would like to see, according to people familiar with the meetings.

☆ Exclusive: Biden administration drafting executive order to simplify space rules -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, has signaled her intention to codify new rules for private space activities, but the plan for the executive order has not been reported. The executive order is considered an early step to simplify existing regulations before new rules take shape. Companies like Blue Origin, Axiom Space and others are developing private space stations with unclear procedures for how they can court foreign governments as customers or execute their missions in space. However, a lack of rules governing private in-space activities complicates space companies' ties with prospective customers, investors and insurers that need more legal certainty. Private space stations like Orbital Reef, which Blue Origin is developing with Boeing and Sierra Space, could be deployed by 2030.

☆ Sierra Space weighs public offering to help fund space station, president says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Janet Kavandi, president of Sierra Space, scientist and astronaut, attends the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) space exploration conference in Paris, France, September 19, 2022. No private company has built a space station. "It is one of many considerations," Sierra Space President Janet Kavandi said of a public offering, speaking to Reuters at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris. Sierra Space hopes to have the first elements of the station in orbit by about 2027. "I don't think you can overstate its importance," Michael López-Alegría, Axiom's chief astronaut, said of getting their space station to market first.

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