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.
