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In a dramatic turn worthy of the space industry’s boom-and-bust cycles, Phantom Space Acquires Vector Launch assets once scattered in bankruptcy, bringing fragments of a fallen rocket venture back under the stewardship of one of its original visionaries.

Tucson, Arizona-based Phantom Space announced Feb. 26 that it had purchased launch assets previously sold off during the 2020 bankruptcy of Vector Launch. The financial terms were not disclosed.

For co-founder Jim Cantrell — who launched Phantom in 2019 after departing Vector amid its financial unraveling — the acquisition marks both a technical maneuver and a symbolic homecoming.

“As the original architect of Vector’s vision, it’s deeply meaningful to bring these assets home to Phantom,” Cantrell said in a statement, framing the move as more than a transaction. “This acquisition isn’t just about technology, it’s about momentum.”

Daytona Rocket to Gain Proven DNA

Cantrell said elements of the purchase include flight-proven design components, engineering data and proprietary technology originally developed for Vector’s small launch vehicles. Those materials will be folded directly into Phantom’s two-stage Daytona rocket architecture, with the aim of lowering development risk and accelerating progress.

Phantom did not specify precisely how the newly acquired materials will be integrated into Daytona, a vehicle engineered to loft payloads of up to 500 kilograms to orbit. However, the company said it is preparing for stage-level testing later this year, following successful hot-fire tests of Daytona’s propulsion assemblies.

The company added that the deal is expected to spur aerospace job creation in Tucson while pushing Phantom more quickly toward orbital capability.

As of March 2024, Phantom had raised $37 million to advance its vertically integrated ambitions — spanning rockets, satellites and in-orbit services.

From Bankruptcy Auction to Strategic Reclamation

Vector’s trajectory once mirrored the broader small-launch gold rush. Before its collapse, the company raised more than $100 million to build a family of compact rockets, including Vector-R, designed to place roughly 60 kilograms into low Earth orbit.

When Vector folded, its launch assets were auctioned in May 2020 for $1.175 million to a consortium led by John Moran, CEO of Pennsylvania-based Moran Logistics. The group had envisioned repurposing the technology for suborbital missions.

Separately, Lockheed Martin purchased Vector’s GalacticSky software-defined spacecraft platform for $4.25 million, underscoring the residual value embedded in the failed venture.

Now, years later, part of that technological lineage has returned to Cantrell’s orbit.

Building a Vertically Integrated Space Platform

Phantom’s ambitions extend beyond launch. The company plans to develop satellites alongside its rockets as part of a vertically integrated strategy, reducing reliance on third-party providers.

Central to that vision is Phantom Cloud, an in-orbit data-backhaul service supported by a proposed 66-satellite constellation. In June 2024, Phantom announced a partnership with Assured Space Access, based in Chandler, Arizona, to supply radio frequency communications payloads for the network.

The company has set an ambitious timeline: its first rocket flight and satellite deployment are targeted for the second half of 2027.

In the unforgiving theater of private spaceflight — where companies ignite quickly and sometimes burn out just as fast — Phantom Space Acquires Vector Launch assets in a move that blends resurrection with reinvention. For Cantrell, it is less about revisiting the past than harnessing it, stitching yesterday’s blueprints into tomorrow’s launchpad.