Sierra Space

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space is an independent commercial aerospace and defense-tech company established in April 2021 as a spin-off from its parent, the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The company was formed from SNC's Space Systems business area, inheriting over 30 years of space flight heritage and more than 500 missions. It is owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, who acquired SNC in 1994 and serve on the Sierra Space board. In February 2026, Dan Jablonsky, formerly of Maxar Technologies, was appointed CEO. Upon its formation, Sierra Space announced a Series A funding round of $1.4 billion, valuing the company at $4.5 billion. A subsequent Series C round in March 2026 raised $550 million, increasing its valuation to $8 billion.

The company's business model is centered on providing a 'space-as-a-service' platform, targeting government, civil, and commercial clients in the low-Earth orbit (LEO) economy. Sierra Space operates through three main divisions: Transportation, Destinations, and Applications. Its client base includes NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, with a significant focus on national security contracts. As of early 2025, the company had secured $1.5 billion in national security and defense contracts for the production of 30 satellites.

The flagship transportation product is the Dream Chaser, a reusable, lifting-body spaceplane designed to transport cargo and eventually crew to LEO. A key feature of the Dream Chaser is its ability to land on conventional runways, allowing for a gentle 1.5g re-entry and rapid access to returned cargo. The first vehicle, named 'Tenacity', is scheduled for a demonstration flight in late 2026. It will launch with the 'Shooting Star' cargo module, which provides additional capacity and is disposed of before re-entry. While initially contracted by NASA for International Space Station resupply missions, the first flight will now be an independent 'free-flyer' demonstration.

In the Destinations sector, Sierra Space is developing the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat. This inflatable, three-story module is designed for use in LEO, on the lunar surface, or for missions to Mars. The LIFE habitat is a key component of the Orbital Reef commercial space station, a collaborative project with Blue Origin. The company is also studying how to adapt the LIFE habitat for lunar surface infrastructure under a NASA contract.

The Applications division delivers a range of satellite platforms and space subsystems. In 2024, the company announced its own satellite bus line named Velocity, Horizon, and Titan. It has secured major contracts with the Space Development Agency (SDA) for missile warning and tracking satellites.