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Long Wall (ABL Space Systems)

US
commercialFounded 2017
El Segundo, California, United States
ablspacesystems.com
Admin Edit

Verified facts grounded in source documentation.

ABL Space Systems laid off an unspecified number of employees in late August 2023 to reduce costs after the loss of a rocket in a static-fire test.

NARRATIVE FINANCIAL8/30/2024ABL Space Systems lays off staff

El Segundo, California-based ABL Space Systems’ plan to launch from SaxaVord next year is uncertain after the company recently lost a rocket during a static-fire test.

NARRATIVE GROWTH7/23/2024European Space Agency to expand UK presence

Lockheed Martin is both an investor in ABL Space Systems and a major customer that made a block buy of up to 58 RS1 launches in 2021.

ORG RELATIONSHIP7/23/2024ABL loses rocket after static-fire test

ABL Space Systems planned to conduct its SaxaVord Spaceport launch in 2023 but has not announced a date for its next launch attempt after its inaugural mission from Alaska failed to reach orbit on 2023-01-10.

NARRATIVE GENERAL10/26/2023UK helps fund Rocket Factory Augsburg’s maiden flight

ABL Space Systems had planned RS1’s first launch from Kodiak Island in Alaska in early 2022 but now aims to debut the rocket in 2022-06-05.

NARRATIVE GENERAL6/2/2022Lockheed and ABL’s first UK vertical launch slips into 2023

ABL Space Systems planned to conduct the first launch of its RS1 rocket from Alaska in 2022 and was also considering launches from Cape Canaveral in 2023.

NARRATIVE GENERAL2/17/2022Florida’s Space Coast is busier than ever, but there’s room for more

ABL Space Systems raised $200,000,000 in October as an extension of a $170,000,000 Series B round it raised seven months earlier.

NARRATIVE FINANCIAL1/19/2022ABL Space Systems rocket stage destroyed in test accident

Small launch providers Relativity Space and ABL Space Systems won contracts to launch military payloads and targeted first flights in 2022.

ORG RELATIONSHIP1/19/2022Space and national security: What to expect in 2022

ABL Space Systems secured $170,000,000 in a funding round seven months earlier that valued the company at $1,300,000,000.

NARRATIVE FINANCIAL11/1/2021ABL Space Systems to launch Project Kuiper’s first satellites in 2022

ABL Space Systems retained most of the $170,000,000 it raised in March.

NARRATIVE GENERAL10/25/2021ABL Space Systems raises $200 million

ABL Space Systems won a contract to launch a NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission spacecraft in 2023.

ORG RELATIONSHIP9/16/2021ABL Space Systems to launch NASA technology demonstration mission

ABL Space Systems expects to launch its RS1 rocket for the first time later 2021.

NARRATIVE GROWTH8/9/2021ABL, Astra, Relativity selected to compete for U.S. Space Force responsive launch contracts

ABL Space Systems raised $170,000,000 in funding on 2021-03-25 to help build up infrastructure and launch sites ahead of its first launch.

NARRATIVE GENERAL3/25/2021ABL Space Systems raises $170 million

ABL Space Systems planned to establish a test site at Spaceport Camden but conducted its testing elsewhere while preparing for a first launch from California.

NARRATIVE GENERAL3/8/2021Georgia spaceport proponents upbeat despite latest delay

ABL Space Systems secured $44,500,000 in U.S. Air Force contracts for launch demonstrations and $49,000,000 in private financing.

NARRATIVE FINANCIAL10/22/2020ABL Space Systems tests launch vehicle stage

ABL plans the RS1’s maiden launch in the first quarter of 2021.

NARRATIVE GENERAL8/3/2020Small launch startup ABL secures over $90 million in new funding and Air Force contracts

ABL Space Systems completed testing of its E2 rocket engine for the RS1 vehicle at Spaceport America in New Mexico prior to 2025-12-17.

NARRATIVE GENERAL12/18/2019Georgia spaceport decision delayed

ABL Space Systems is planning a first launch of the RS1 vehicle in 2020.

NARRATIVE GENERAL7/23/2019Lockheed Martin invests in small launch vehicle startup ABL Space Systems

ABL Space Systems planned a first launch of the RS1 in the third quarter of 2020.

NARRATIVE GENERAL2/1/2019ABL Space Systems increases performance and cuts price of its small launch vehicle