Sierra Space Corp. executives depart as it grapples with rocket plane delays

SIERRA SPACE CORP. is losing some key engineering and financial executives as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and defense contractor grapples with delays on its signature Dream Chaser vehicle.

Jen Splaingard, senior vice-president of engineering, and Ken Venner, its chief information officer and a former SpaceX executive, have left the company recently and been replaced with new appointments, the company confirmed. Naved Mohammad, a finance executive, and Sanjoy Kumar, a quality and mission assurance specialist, both left “some time ago” and have been replaced, the company said.

“We continue to recruit the best talent in the industry to fuel the ongoing growth of our young company,” Matthew Clarke, Sierra Space’s senior vice-president of marketing and communications, said by e-mail.

The fresh departures come as Sierra Space works toward a December launch, at the earliest, of its Dream Chaser miniaturized space shuttle. The craft is designed to ferry cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. In the latest setback, United Launch Alliance, which was initially slated to loft Dream Chaser in September, was forced to swap out the plane for a dummy payload.

The first plane, dubbed Tenacity, is undergoing final testing at the Kennedy Space Center and its successor is in production in Louisville, Colorado, the company said.

Colorado-based Sierra Space, spun out of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp., backed by billionaire Turkish couple Fatih and Eren Ozmen, is also working on inflatable space stations and rocket engines.

The company said its valuation climbed to more than $5 billion after a September 2023 private capital injection. Chief Executive Officer Tom Vice is laying the groundwork for a potential initial public offering but says a successful Dream Chaser flight is key to deciding whether to take that step.

“We want access to the public markets,” Mr. Vice told Bloomberg in February. “We’ve been working for a year and a half to make sure that we are public company ready.”

Mr. Vice and a leadership team and board built up of former Boeing Co. executives including Greg Smith, Tim Keating and Troy Lahr, have taken steps to control costs, including layoffs last year. Sierra Space’s president, Janet Kavandi, left the company in December.

“We remain in a healthy capital position with $4.4 billion in active, cash-delivering contracts and a hugely supportive group of long-term investors, including our company’s founders,” Mr. Clarke said.

Sierra Space has added $1.3 billion in national security contracts since 2023, he added. — Bloomberg News