The Series A round valued Sierra Space at $4.5 billion.

Sierra Space, the startup with visions for humanity’s new civilizations beyond Earth, announced Friday its $1.4 billion Series A round led by General Atlantic, Coatue and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners and AE Industrial Partners. The round valued the startup, which is a subsidiary of private aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, at $4.5 billion. (CNBC)

The round is a landmark of sorts for Sierra Space:

• It’s the first capital raise for the company
• It represents the largest aerospace and defense capital raise globally in 2021
• It’s the second-largest private capital raise globally in the aerospace and defense sector ever

Sierra Space projects

The space startup is primarily focused on two projects: The Dream Chaser spaceplane (rendering pictured above) and the Orbital Reef space station, the latter which it partnered with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build (rendering pictured below).

The Dream Chaser Spaceplane is a family of vehicles for transporting cargo, crew and security applications. It is under a multibillion-dollar contract with NASA to perform cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station starting late next year.

It is the world’s only winged commercial and reusable spaceplane, capable of a smooth 1.5 low-g re-entry for crew and cargo transportation with the ability to land on existing commercial runways worldwide.

The company is partnering with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit that is envisioned as a “mixed use business park” in space. It will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit.

A critical component for Orbital Reef is Sierra’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE™) Habitat, a modular, three-story commercial habitation, business and science platform. LIFE Habitat will provide opportunities for multiple businesses including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors, to optimize zero gravity benefits. The LIFE Habitat will be able to be deployed in low-Earth orbit, on the lunar surface, or lunar orbit, and as a transport vehicle to Mars.

For humanity, and business

“We are building the next generation of space transportation systems and in-space infrastructures and destinations that will enable humanity to build and sustain thriving civilizations beyond Earth,” stated Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “Equally as important, Sierra Space is building the next platform for business. Space provides a unique environment that will enable new breakthroughs in critical areas such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, fiber optics and energy that will directly enhance our life on Earth.”

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Images Credit: Dream Chaser Spaceplane Rendering (Sierra Space) via Flickr; Orbital Reef Space Station via Blue Origin