Sierra Space, the space spin-off of Sierra Nevada Corp, announced on Monday that CEO Tom Vice has retired, with billionaire Chairman Fatih Ozmen stepping in as interim CEO. This leadership change comes as the company nears the anticipated launch of its long-delayed Dream Chaser spaceplane.
Sierra Space, valued at $5.3 billion and spun off in 2021, has been working for nearly a decade to develop Dream Chaser, a spaceplane intended to transport cargo to and from low-Earth orbit. The spaceplane is expected to compete with SpaceX’s Dragon capsules. Under Vice’s leadership, Sierra Space also established a partnership with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build an inflatable space station, which would be offered to NASA as a potential commercial replacement for the International Space Station. Additionally, Sierra Space secured a $740 million contract from the Pentagon last year to build satellite platforms.
However, the company has faced challenges in launching Dream Chaser. Initially set to launch in 2024 aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, the spaceplane was removed from the mission due to development delays.
Sierra Space thanked Tom Vice for his leadership during his tenure and wished him well in his retirement. The company’s backers include AE Industrial Partners, BlackRock, and Japanese investors like MUFG Bank and Kanematsu, following a $290 million funding round in 2023.