Vector builds small, dedicated launch vehicles (Vector-R) designed to carry 50–60 kg payloads, with a heavier 290 kg configuration in development. The company has completed sub-orbital proving flights and is targeting its first orbital launch in December from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska. After early work funded by Defense Department and NASA grants and a $1M seed in 2016, Vector expanded with a $21M round led by Sequoia and has now raised a $70M Series B. Proceeds will fund a new rocket manufacturing facility in Tucson and expand sales and marketing — roughly doubling its Silicon Valley presence. Vector plans to transition from R&D to flight operations and profitability while scaling up production to build hundreds of small launch vehicles to meet rapid-launch demand. Vector develops the Vector-R small-launch vehicle and completed its first suborbital launch and full-scale test flight from Georgia’s Spaceport Camden. The company aims to be a commercial launch provider similar to SpaceX and targets achieving orbital launch capability by sometime next year. Its test flight carried commercial test freight from Astro Digital, the Center for Applied Space Technology and NASA’s Ames Research Center. Vector demonstrated a 3D-manufactured engine injector developed in partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to help meet low-cost goals. The firm offers both dedicated, low-cost launches for small satellites and plans software-defined satellites accessible via an API so developers can build space apps without designing hardware. Vector says it aims to offer launches for as low as $3 million, a fraction of the cost of larger rockets. Vector Space Systems is a Tucson, Ariz.-based micro-satellite launch company led by CEO and co-founder Jim Cantrell. Its vehicle family includes Vector-R (Rapide) for frequent launches of payloads up to 50 kg and Vector-H (Heavy) for 100 kg-class satellites and small deep-space missions. The company planned staged vehicle rollouts: a Vector-R Block 0 launch in Q4 2017, commercial Vector-R Block 1 flights in early 2018, Vector-H Block-0 in Q2 2019 and Vector-H Block-1 commercial operations by mid‑2019. The business connects space startups and innovators with launch services to enable affordable access to space. Vector announced it raised additional angel funding to accelerate development efforts. Vector Space Systems was founded by SpaceX founding team members Jim Cantrell and John Garvey to provide high-frequency, dedicated launches — a "space taxi" model — rather than the multi-payload "space bus." The company is developing small launch vehicles designed to carry single 20–40 kg payloads with the cadence of weekly or multi-week launches, and its first stage is intended to be reusable using an aerial recovery system. Dozens of sub-orbital flights have been completed and the next milestone is demonstrating orbital deployment, with hopes for first real flights in 2017. Vector argues this model reduces wait times and payload packaging constraints for small-satellite customers. Development to date has been funded largely by the founders' cash reserves and government support from DOD and NASA, and the company announced $1M in angel seed funding to accelerate progress. Vector is seeking a Series A in the near term and reports strong investor interest.

Total raised

$93M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Oct 2018