The Pentagon’s embrace of startups could fuel hypersonic tech

 

The Pentagon’s embrace of startups could fuel hypersonic tech

WASHINGTON — When Joe Laurienti founded space propulsion company Ursa Major in 2015, he didn’t expect its first contract would come from a Pentagon hypersonics program.

It was a pivotal year for the commercial space industry as private funders flocked to space startups in record numbers. At the same time, Congress was pushing the Defense Department to eliminate its dependence on Russian-made rocket engines and invest in domestically produced space launch systems.

In that intersection of commercial investment and national security need, Laurienti saw an opportunity. The aerospace engineer, who had worked on propulsion systems for SpaceX and Blue Origin, decided to start a company focused on building engines for space launch vehicles using advanced manufacturing techniques.