Launcher abandons rocket plans in Vast acquisition

In the chronically overcrowded world of small launch vehicles, there is now one less. Space station startup Vast Space announced the acquisition of Launcher, a Hawthorne, California-based company that since forming in 2017 had been preparing a rocket for smallsat launches. The surprise acquisition announcement will see Launcher continuing its Orbital Transfer Vehicle program, while diversifying into engine sales. Launcher will test space station components for Vast on future OTV missions – of which two more are planned for this year – and contribute OTV systems like flight software and avionics to Vast’s space station development. Slightly tangential but still relevant – Launcher’s pivot to engine sales adds to the growing number of companies selling engines in the United States. For a time, Aerojet Rocketdyne was alone in this market, with its only competition coming from Yuzhmash of Ukraine. Now the market consists of those two incumbents, plus Ursa Major Technologies of Colorado, Firefly Space of Texas, and Launcher. That’s good news for the U.S. defense industrial base.

SOURCE: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/21/vast-acquires-launcher-in-quest-to-build-artificial-gravity-space-stations/