UP Aerospace, Inc.¶
Location: Denver, CO; operations at Spaceport America, NM
Type: Industry (small launch services company)
FO Projects: 94196, 94202, 106636
Outcome Category: Active maturation — hypersonic sounding rocket operational; orbital LV aspirational
Confidence: Confirmed (USASpending, flight results); Suggestive (orbital Spyder status)
Last updated: Session 77 (2026-04-07)
Summary¶
UP Aerospace is a sounding rocket company that used three successive FO contracts to develop Spyder, a high-performance hypersonic sounding rocket. Core business remains SpaceLoft (suborbital sounding rocket), which continues regular operations (~21+ missions). Spyder's maiden flight occurred June 13, 2025 (LANL Stockpile Responsiveness Program-funded) at White Sands Missile Range, reaching Mach 10+. Spyder-2 with integrated GNC is scheduled for early 2026. Additionally, the SL-18 SpaceLoft mission (Nov 19, 2025) successfully demonstrated a Redwire/LANL deployable heat shield (AM-TPS). Clarification (Session 77): Spyder is a suborbital hypersonic sounding rocket — not an orbital launch vehicle. Earlier references to "orbital Spyder" appear to reflect aspirational product roadmap language (~$1M for 10 kg to LEO) that has not materialized as an active development program. Current Spyder development focuses on hypersonic testing and GNC integration.
Timeline:
- 2003: UP Aerospace founded; SpaceLoft sounding rocket begins operations
- 2011–2015: NASA payload integration contract ($2.77M) — establishing SpaceLoft flight services
- 2017–2020: FO Tipping Point 94196 ($2M) — Spyder critical tech demo (TRL4→8); hot fire staging, AVA GNC
- 2017–2020: FO 94202 ($2M from NASA, per TechPort) — Spyder GNC AVA development (TRL4→7)
- 2019–2020: Motor build/test POs — Spyder 3-1 motor ($122K), Spyder 4th stage ($41K), cast/test ($133K)
- 2020–2023: FO 106636 ($unknown contract) — Spyder solid motor upper stages (TRL5→8); 400 lb payload to 100-120 km
- 2021–2024: SpaceLoft payload integration contract ($1.44M); competition payloads ($876K)
- December 2022: Spyder first-stage motor static test at Spaceport America
- October 1, 2024: SL-15 suborbital flight from Spaceport America — NASA FO payloads
- June 13, 2025: Spyder-1 hypersonic maiden flight at White Sands Missile Range (Launch Complex 36) — Mach 10+; funded by LANL Stockpile Responsiveness Program; successfully deployed LANL test payload
- November 19, 2025: SL-18 mission — Redwire/LANL/NASA Ames AM-TPS deployable heat shield successfully demonstrated; 5th separation/deployment mission; heat shield deployed like an umbrella, protecting payload during >2,000 mph descent
- Early 2026 (planned): Spyder-2 with integrated guidance and control systems
- Orbital Spyder: Aspirational; earlier marketing targeted ~$1M per 10 kg to LEO for government customers, but no orbital development program is publicly active as of April 2026
TechPort Records¶
94196 — Spyder Critical Technology Demonstration Tests¶
- Period: 2017-06-01 – 2020-09-30
- TRL: 4 → 8 (target 8)
- PI: Jerry Larson
- Award: NND17AP13C, $2.00M, NASA
- Content: Sub-orbital hot fire staging with AVA GNC; nose fairing separation; lightweight staging; ACS demo
- Description note: "A dedicated 6U CubeSat launch vehicle for NASA and commercial to Low Earth Orbits. ~$1M total launch services target price" — the commercial vision was explicit in 2017
94202 — SPYDER Technology GNC AVA Development¶
- Period: 2017-10-01 – 2020-09-30
- TRL: 4 → 7 (target 7)
- PI: Bruce A Lee
- Content: LV simulations, AVA GNC software, 4 hardware units, air bearing testing at MSFC, Spyder 2-stage and 4-stage demos
- Note: Separate FO project running in parallel to 94196; different PI, overlapping period — unusual
106636 — SPYDER In Flight¶
- Period: 2020-12-01 – 2023-12-31
- TRL: 5 → 8 (target 8)
- PI: Jerry Larson
- Content: High-efficiency solid upper-stage motors for increased performance; 400 lb payload to 100-120 km microgravity
- Note: Project completed December 2023 — Spyder hypersonic first flight followed in June 2025
USASpending Awards (UP Aerospace Inc.)¶
| Award ID | Agency | Amount | Period | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NND11AP88T | NASA | $2.77M | 2011–2015 | SpaceLoft payload integration services |
| NND17AP13C | NASA | $2.00M | 2017–2020 | Spyder critical tech demo (=FO 94196) |
| 80AFRC21F0079 | NASA | $1.44M | 2021–2024 | SpaceLoft SL-15 payload integration |
| NND15AP05T | NASA | $1.35M | 2015–2018 | SpaceLoft (SAP PO) |
| NND14AP14T | NASA | $943K | 2014–2018 | SpaceLoft payload flight and recovery |
| 80AFRC21F0092 | NASA | $876K | 2021–2023 | Student competition payloads (ESCP) |
| 80AFRC21F0046 | NASA | $350K | 2021–2022 | SpaceLoft 15 non-standard services |
| 80AFRC19F0181 | NASA | $134K | 2019 | SpaceLoft SL-14 flight |
| 80NSSC19P0361 | NASA | $133K | 2018–2020 | Spyder motor mix/cast/static test |
| 80NSSC19P1391 | NASA | $122K | 2019–2020 | Spyder 3-1 motor build and test |
| 80AFRC21F0155 | NASA | $76K | 2021–2022 | AM-TPS payload integration special project |
| 80AFRC21F0047 | NASA | $69K | 2021 | AM-TPS trade study |
| 80NSSC19P1317 | NASA | $41K | 2019–2020 | Spyder 4th stage motor |
| NND11AB40T | NASA | $34K | 2012 | Flight/payload integration |
| NND12AA22T | NASA | $30K | 2011–2013 | Flight/payload integration |
Total NASA tracked (page 1): ~$10.4M
DoD contracts: None found for UP Aerospace in page 1
Downstream Impact Chain¶
SpaceLoft sounding rocket (operational 2003+)
↓
FO 94196 + 94202 (2017-2020): Spyder hot fire staging, GNC, AVA (TRL4→8)
+ Motor build contracts: $0.3M
↓
FO 106636 (2020-2023): Solid upper-stage motors, 400 lb to 100-120km (TRL5→8)
↓
Spyder-1 hypersonic maiden flight (June 13, 2025): Mach 10+
Funder: LANL Stockpile Responsiveness Program
Partners: Cesaroni Aerospace (motors), MSFC (air bearing testing)
↓
SL-18 AM-TPS demo (Nov 19, 2025): Redwire/LANL deployable heat shield
SpaceLoft as platform for heat shield reentry testing
↓
Spyder-2 GNC integration (early 2026): guidance and control systems
Next step toward operational hypersonic testing platform
Assessment¶
FO invested ~$4M+ in direct Spyder development contracts (plus motor test POs), plus ~$6M+ in SpaceLoft flight services. UP Aerospace is a legitimate ongoing business.
- Hypersonic capability achieved, orbital capability not — Spyder successfully reached Mach 10+ on maiden flight (Jun 2025). The earlier orbital aspirations (~10 kg to LEO for ~$1M) are not being actively pursued as far as public evidence shows.
- LANL as primary Spyder customer — LANL's Stockpile Responsiveness Program funded the maiden flight. UP Aerospace's market is DoD/DOE hypersonic testing, not commercial launch services.
- SpaceLoft as reentry test platform — The SL-18 AM-TPS mission (Nov 2025) shows SpaceLoft evolving from a simple payload carrier to a test platform for reentry technologies, with Redwire and LANL as partners. This expands UP Aerospace's market beyond simple suborbital flights.
- Three parallel FO projects — 94196, 94202, and 106636 cover different aspects of the same vehicle. This ~$4M FO investment in a single vehicle is unusual and suggests strong FO program office backing.
- 8-year development arc — Spyder development spanned 2017–2025 (FO funding through maiden flight), consistent with FO timelines for vehicle-class technologies.
Outcome category: Active maturation / hypersonic testing market. FO investment produced a working hypersonic vehicle with a government customer (LANL). Orbital capability remains aspirational.
Open Threads¶
- Did FO 94202 actually have a $2M NASA award (not confirmed in USASpending — only 94196 confirmed)?
- Spyder-2 GNC flight results (early 2026) — will GNC integration enable more demanding LANL/DoD test profiles?
- Any DoD contracts for Spyder hypersonic vehicle beyond LANL? Kratos MACH-TB ($1.45B) is a potential customer pipeline for hypersonic test services.
- Is "orbital Spyder" still on the product roadmap at all, or has the company fully pivoted to hypersonic testing?
Sources¶
- TechPort 94196, 94202, 106636 (live API, 2026-04-05)
- USASpending.gov awards for UP Aerospace Inc (queried 2026-04-05, refreshed 2026-04-07 — no new contracts)
- PR Newswire: "UP Aerospace Successfully Launches Maiden Flight of the Spyder Hypersonic Rocket" (Jun 16, 2025)
- NASA: "Maiden Flight of Spyder Hypersonic Rocket" (2025)
- Redwire: "Redwire and Los Alamos National Laboratory Successfully Complete Demonstration of Deployable Heat Shield" (Mar 6, 2026)
- Spaceport America: "UP Aerospace Conducts Latest Research Mission" (Dec 19, 2024 — SL-15)
- SpaceDaily: "UP Aerospace debuts Spyder rocket with successful hypersonic test launch" (2025)
- SpaceNews: "UP Aerospace targets government customers with $1 million dedicated smallsat launches"