SPACEQ by Marc Boucher July 13, 2017
In 2016 Jim Cantrell and group of veteran space professionals started Vector Space Systems. Their goal? Nothing less than than building a small satellite launch company capable of launching upwards of 100 small satellites a year from at least three spaceports.
The Vector Advantage
Jim Cantrell is the CEO and one the founders of Vector Space Systems. I spoke with Jim at length about Vector and their plans. You can listen to the full podcast below.
Some of the highlights of the interview include a company which has just closed its Series A round of funding from Sequoia Capital with participation from Shasta Ventures and Lightspeed for $21 million and having raised just over $31 million in its first year.
The company had a head start though, having purchased Garvey Spacecrafts with its heritage of 15 years of rocket development. John Garvey became one of the founders and Chief Technology Officer.
The company has already completed a block 0 test of a full scale version of the Vector-R rocket, the smaller of the two currently planned launch vehicles. That test went well except for the recovery shute having failed. The company plans another sub-orbital test in August from Camden, Georgia, which is in the process of being certified by the State as a spaceport.
Vector will start doing orbital test flights next year and said it was on track to launch its first customer payloads in 2019.
The smaller of the launch vehicles, Vector-R, will cost $1.5 million while the Vector-H will cost $3 million. An optional third stage is available for both at a cost of $500k to $1 million depending on needs.
More:
http://spaceq.ca/vector-space-systems-small-rockets-small-satellites-and-possibly-a-big-payday/
