Ursa Major says its Hadley engine supports vertical launch and hypersonic uses

Enlarge / Hot fire of Ursa Major's oxygen-rich, staged combustion Hadley engine at the company's Berthoud, Colorado, headquarters. (credit: Ursa Major)

Startup Ursa Major announced Wednesday that it had completed qualification of its Hadley rocket engine for use by both a space launch vehicle and a hypersonic launch system. The Colorado-based company said it has already started delivering flight-ready Hadley engines to two customers, Phantom Space and Stratolaunch, and plans to produce a total of 30 engines this year.

The Hadley engine is relatively small as rocket engines go, with about 5,000 pounds of thrust. At that performance level, the Hadley is comparable to Rocket Lab's Rutherford engine, nine of which power the first stage of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.

In its announcement, Ursa Major touted the versatility of the Hadley engine being used in two different environments. Phantom Space is developing its Daytona rocket as a small-lift booster, using seven Hadley engines in its first stage to lift up to 450 kg to low Earth orbit. A single, vacuum-optimized Hadley engine will power the upper stage. Phantom says it is booking launches for 2023.

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