Startup News: 3 aerospace startups announce latest developments
In the past week, privately held aerospace companies Boom Supersonic, Sierra Space, and Anduril have taken steps to advance important corporate initiatives.
Boom Supersonic’s third successful test flight
Over the past four years, Boom Supersonic has been developing Overture, which is expected later in the decade to become the first supersonic jet to fly commercial passengers since the Concorde stopped flying across the Atlantic Ocean in 2003. Last week, Centennial, Colorado-based Boom Supersonic announced a successful third test flight of XB-1, a smaller demonstration version of the Overture, over the Mojave Desert in California.
During the flight, which never exceeded the speed of sound, the test team checked the performance of the system which controls the temperature and pressurization of the cockpit. The jet’s landing gear was also extended and retracted at higher speeds than earlier test flights. According to the company, “The cadence of test flights is picking up speed, as we continue to target supersonic flight before the end of the year”.
Though the Overture isn’t expected to fly commercial passengers until at least 2027, Boom Supersonic reports that 130 planes have already been pre-ordered from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines.
Founded in 2014, Boom Supersonic has a Forge Price™ of $66.62 a share as of September 16, 2024, giving the company an implied valuation of $1.2 billion. The company’s post-money valuation, based on its funding round in May 2024, was $1.4 billion, according to Forge Global. The company’s leading investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Prime Movers Lab, Emerson Collective, and American Express Ventures.
Sierra Space develops new space technologies
Meanwhile, another Colorado-based company, Sierra Space, has achieved a technological milestone of its own. Sierra Space is known for its Dream Chaser vehicle, which transports supplies to astronauts working at the International Space Station. The company is also developing technologies that will provide an infrastructure for people to live and work on the moon’s surface someday.
On the score, the Louisville, Colorado-based company announced last week that it has successfully extracted oxygen from simulated lunar soil in a lab setting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to the company’s press release, the technology is designed to create oxygen in bulk to support one of NASA’s primary objectives: establishing a long-term presence on the moon.
Founded in 2021, Sierra Space has a post-money valuation of $5.3 billion, according to Forge Global. Its leading institutional investors include Coatue, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, AE Industrial Partners, and Vice Family Trust.
Anduril develops military systems for use in space
Finally, Anduril, a defense technology firm known for its use of artificial intelligence in systems used by military customers, announced last week that it plans to develop military systems for use in space in the coming year. According to the company, these systems are designed to aid the U.S. military and its allied partners, providing what it calls “end-to-end solutions” to help address future threats from foreign enemies who use space to launch attacks.
Founded in 2017, Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Anduril has a Forge Price™ of $35 a share as of September 16, 2024, giving the company an implied valuation of $22.6 billion, a 61% premium over the company’s post-money valuation of $14 billion based on its last funding round in June 2024.
