SoylentNews

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for AnonymousCoward

Vector's CEO departs, rocket company pausing its operations [Updated]

Saturday a.m. Update: Multiple former employees of the rocket company Vector in both California and Arizona have told Ars they were let go on Friday. Late Friday night, the company issued the following statement:

"In response to a major change in financing, Vector has had to pause its operations. A core team is now evaluating options to complete the development of the company's Vector R small launch vehicle while also supporting the Air Force and other government agencies on programs such as the recent ASLON-45 award."

Original post: Vector, a micro-launch company founded in 2016 to build small rockets for payloads of up to 60kg, may be in financial trouble, multiple industry sources told Ars on Friday. A spokeswoman for Vector did not comment on that. However, she did confirm the company has parted ways with its chief executive: "Jim Cantrell is no longer with Vector effective today. John Garvey has assumed the role of CEO."

The company has been working on developing its Vector-R vehicle and trying to prepare it for a suborbital flight this summer. In an interview in April, Cantrell told Ars that he hoped to fly an upgraded version, Vector-R B1003, on an orbital flight from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska before the end of this year. The financial difficulties have reportedly arisen just after Vector received some good news in the form of a launch contract from the US Air Force.

[...] The current setback comes as other companies are also racing to develop smallsat launchers—although few were quite as small as the Vector-R, which was powered by three LP-1 engines that produced a thrust of about 20,000 pounds and appeared to have a viable niche. It is widely expected that the dozens of competitors seeking to develop smaller rockets will see a funding crunch as some make it to the launch pad, and others do not.

Of these new space companies, only one, Rocket Lab, has successfully begun commercial operations. During a recent interview with Ars, Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck said there just weren't enough small satellites to go around to sustain more than a handful of small rocket companies.

Original Submission