Dan Jablonsky

Ursa Major, one of the upstart developers of rocket motors and engines, surprised the industry on Thursday by appointing former Maxar Technologies CEO Dan Jablonsky as its new top executive, succeeding Joe Laurienti, who is also the startup’s founder and has positioned the company for the next stage of growth.

Earlier this year, the Navy awarded Ursa Major and several other companies’ contracts to continue developing solid rocket motors for second stage of the Standard Missile-6 to expand the supply chain and create alternative suppliers beyond L3Harris Technologies the incumbent for the Mk 104 motor. The Colorado-based company is also developing a family of liquid rocket engines for hypersonic weapons, aerial targets, and other applications.

But Ursa Major, like fellow rocket motor startup X-Bow Systems, is awaiting major production contracts to allow it to scale-up and compete head-on with L3Harris and Northrop Grumman, also a legacy manufacturer of rocket motors and engines.

“To continue advancing Ursa Major’s work in space, hypersonics, and solid rocket motors, now is the right time for the company to bring in a new leader with the expertise and track record to successfully guide the company into further reaches of scale and impact,” Laurienti said in a statement. “I cannot think of a more accomplished or seasoned leader for this mission than Dan.”

In a separate message to his employees, Laurienti said that “Dan has an incredible track record of leading and scaling companies in our industry and positioning them for long-term success.”

Jablonsky’s appointment is effective Aug. 5.

Jablonsky, a former Navy surface warfare officer, joined the commercial remote sensing and geospatial intelligence company DigitalGlobe in 2012 as general counsel, then added the general manager role to oversee international, and U.S. defense and intelligence business. He became president of the company in 2017.

DigitalGlobe in October 2017 was acquired by MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates and the combined entity rebranded as Maxar Technologies, which was publicly traded and led by Jablonsky until it was acquired and taken private in May 2023 by the private equity firm Advent International. In September 2023, Maxar split into two separate businesses, Maxar Intelligence, which Jablonsky led until transitioning to the company’s board, and Maxar Space Systems.

“I have followed Ursa Major’s many successes over the past nine years and am confident in the impact that its advanced technology and manufacturing approaches will have on the space and defense communities for years to come,” Jablonsky said in a statement.

Laurienti founded Ursa Major in 2015 after working as a propulsion engineer for launch vehicle companies SpaceX and Blue Origin. Laurienti said in his message to employees that he has known Jablonsky for several years and originally planned to hire him as an advisor but after deep discussions realized “Dan was the right person to take Ursa Major to the next stage of its development, and after a review, our Board wholeheartedly agreed.”

Laurienti said there are no additional leadership or operational changes. He also reminded the company he will always be the founder, “so don’t think you’re getting rid of me!”

This story was first published by Defense Daily