Sierra Space claims $5B valuation after $290M Series B raise

LOUISVILLE — Less than three years after Sierra Space Corp. spun off from Sierra Nevada Corp., the Louisville-based aerospace company says it has achieved a valuation of more than $5 billion. 

SSC’s new $5.3 billion valuation comes as a result of a recently closed Series B funding round that raised $290 million.

The round was led by a trio of Japanese institutional investors: MUFG Bank Ltd., the country’s largest bank; multi-industry trading company Kanematsu Corp.; and Tokio Marine & Nichido, one of Japan’s largest insurance companies.

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“With this latest private capital infusion, Sierra Space expects to forge critical global partnerships and accelerate plans to build a transformational space tech ecosystem that will revolutionize the space economy of tomorrow,” SSC said Tuesday.

SSC’s main aerospace projects include the Dream Chaser space plane, which is expected to be used to resupply the International Space Station; and the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) Habitat, a modular, three-story commercial habitation, business and science platform.

“Sierra Space is excited to create a long-term strategic relationship with our Japanese investors and industry partners,” SSC CEO Tom Vice said in a prepared statement. “As we transition our revolutionary Dream Chaser spaceplane into operations for NASA cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station, we focus our capital deployment to the development and operations of the first commercial space station — the next step in our in-space infrastructure — the growth of our national security offering and scaling our space systems components business.”

The investment comes during a period in which SSC is actively working with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency on low-Earth orbit activities studies. 

“MUFG aspires to help all our stakeholders take the next step forward, and we believe this should serve as the starting point for all business activities. Sierra Space Corporation’s aim to build a platform in space that will benefit life on Earth is the very embodiment of this concept, and MUFG has decided to invest in low-Earth orbit to support commercialization, the creation of new industries, and the resolution of social issues,” MUFG CEO Junichi Hanzawa said in a prepared statement. “In the future, MUFG, alongside Kanematsu, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, and Sierra Space, will not only contribute to the regional economy of Oita Prefecture, but also create social impact in Japan and throughout Asia.”

Sierra Space, a private operator that keeps its financial details close to the vest while claiming to have $3.4 billion in customer contracts on its books, raised a $1.4 billion Series A round in 2021. That round represented the largest aerospace and defense capital raise globally in 2021 and the second-largest private capital raise globally in the aerospace and defense sector ever, according to SSC. 

Since its spinoff and Series A round, Sierra Space has diversified beyond its initial product lines. 

Last year, the company launched Sierra Space Ventures, a venture-capital investment arm. The new division “will focus on companies working to enable the next breakthroughs in human health, computing systems, telecommunications and clean energy that can be further accelerated through access to Sierra Space’s research facilities in low-Earth orbit (LEO),” the company said in 2022. 

This summer, SSC formed a new engineering and testing division, led by senior vice president of engineering Jen Splaingard.

“The newly formed organization will operate under a set of defining principles that align with Sierra Space’s core values including: disruptive innovation that will significantly reduce the cost of accessing and maintaining microgravity research facilities in Low Earth Orbit; a culture of continuous learning that embraces curiosity and inspires the team to push boundaries and explore new ideas; and collaboration and empowerment to drive shared responsibility, leveraging collective intelligence to bring out the best engineering ideas and solutions,” Sierra Space said in August.