Sierra Space, a subsidiary of private aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corp, may go public or pursue other funding options that would accelerate the company toward its goal of building a space station, company executives told Reuters.
No private company has built a space station. Sierra is working with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to construct one, called Orbital Reef, in competition with other programs from companies such as Lockheed Martin and Axiom Space.
A $1.4 billion funding round last year, valuing the company at $4.5 billion, allowed Sierra Space to double its workforce to nearly 2,000, come closer to completing its Dreamchaser spaceplane in 2023, and expand ground tests of an inflatable habitat central to the Orbital Reef concept. But an injection of fresh funding would allow Sierra Space to accelerate Orbital Reef development and get it to market quicker, said Ken Shields, the company's senior director of business development."The cost of attaining ambitious space goals has dropped in the last decade," said Carissa Christensen, chief executive of the business analytics firm BryceTech.
Houston-based Axiom Space is also developing a station using NASA development funds, but the first elements of that project will grow off the ISS beginning in 2024 before splitting into an independent laboratory.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'LEGO Masters'-winning spaceship to go on display at NASARobert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of 'Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.
Read more »
Sierra Vista woman arrested for abandoning puppies in Carr CanyonThree puppies and their mother are safe in Douglas Animal Shelter custody after being abandoned in Carr Canyon last weekend, according to Cochise County Sheriff's Office.
Read more »
Sierra Vista man arrested on three counts of sexual exploitation of a minorThe man was arrested on Friday, Sept. 23, after serving a search warrant on a home in Sierra Vista's 2200 block of Oakmont Drive.
Read more »
James Webb Space Telescope reveals remarkable look at Neptune's ringsThe image is the first of its kind in over 30 years, and while it shows remarkable details of the giant gas planet, there is one classic detail that is missing.
Read more »
This is what a rocket launch looks like from space | Digital TrendsAstronauts aboard the International Space Station have captured images of Wednesday's rocket launch to the station involving three crew members.
Read more »