Ursa Major has announced the successful completion of two sustained hypersonic flight tests of its Hadley liquid rocket engine.
The tests, conducted since late 2024 in partnership with Stratolaunch, exceeded both flight and power expectations using the Talon-A2 hypersonic testbed vehicle.
According to Ursa Major, both test flights met key performance benchmarks and concluded with the successful recovery of the Talon-A2, enabling future re-use and reinforcing the testbed’s viability for repeat operations.
“With these successful sustained hypersonic flights, Ursa Major and Stratolaunch are pushing the boundaries of hypersonic technology and building a track record of achievement,” said Ursa Major CEO Dan Jablonsky. “Ursa Major is answering the call from our military and government partners to innovate and meet the mission to provide critical national security capabilities, while continuing to assert ourselves as a hypersonics category leader for the warfighter.”
The Hadley engine, delivering 5,000 pounds of thrust, operates on an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle using liquid oxygen and kerosene. It is built for small-scale launch vehicles and hypersonic systems. Hadley previously reached high supersonic speeds in its inaugural flight with Stratolaunch, and the recent milestones bring its total flight count to three in less than one year.
As noted by the company, Hadley is designed for both commercial and defense applications, offering rapid manufacturing and operational flexibility.
Ursa Major emphasizes that the system is tailored to accelerate deployment timelines for the Department of Defense by enabling new mission capabilities in speed, range, and payload delivery.
Hadley is the foundational engine in a broader family of propulsion products being developed by Ursa Major, which include solid rocket motors and in-space propulsion systems.