AFRL awards Ursa Major $28.6M contract for responsive space, hypersonic, and on-orbit propulsion

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards AFB, Calif., has awarded Ursa Major a $28,565,857 firm-fixed price contract for responsive space, hypersonic, and on-orbit propulsion. This new contract will follow-on work completed to mature advanced liquid rocket engines and will culminate in a flight demonstration.

"Under this contract, Ursa Major serves as the lead integrator for a tactical flight demonstrator that will prove the ability to use a storable liquid rocket system for hypersonic applications," said Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Ursa Major. "Because of their tactical configuration, storable liquid rocket engines, like Ursa Major's Draper, are uniquely positioned to deliver to the warfighter a hypersonic capability that is manufacturable at scale and at a fraction of the cost of alternatives."

Ursa Major's Draper propulsion system combines the long-term storable attributes of solid rocket motors with the active throttle control and extended ranges of liquid systems, providing maneuverability, distance and flexibility needed for hypersonic applications for warfighters. Developed as a tactical, storable variant of the flight-proven and in-production Hadley system, Draper's design furthers effective simulation of hypersonic threats and addresses critical gaps in America's hypersonic capabilities. Draper is a 4,000-pound-thrust closed catalyst cycle system that uses non-cryogenic fuels that optimize long-term storability. Ursa Major announced the successful hotfire of the Draper engine in May 2024 following the announcement of the development of Draper. Draper has subsequently conducted over 200 hot-fires, and this will be its maiden flight.