Long Wall (aerospace company)
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | August 2017 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
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Number of employees | 100 (2021) |
| Website | lwall |
Long Wall (formerly ABL Space Systems) is an American aerospace and launch service provider, based in El Segundo, California, that manufactures deployable launch vehicles and infrastructure for missile defense,[1] formerly for sending commercial small satellites into orbit. The company manufactures its components in the United States.[2]
Long Wall manufactures RSX, a launch vehicle used for flight testing and threat replication, and Ironwood, a rapidly deployable ground support equipment system.[2]
History
[edit]Long Wall was founded as ABL Space Systems in 2017 by Harry O'Hanley and Dan Piemont, former SpaceX and Morgan Stanley employees.[3]
In 2018, Long Wall signed a lease with Camden County, Georgia, for future operations in Spaceport Camden.[4]
In 2019, the company signed with Spaceport America in New Mexico to locate testing operations and facilities there.[5] As of October 2022, the company makes no mention of this location on their facility list.[6]
In 2021 Long Wall leased facilities at the Port of Long Beach formerly occupied by Sea Launch.[7]
In 2023, Long Wall was working on a larger rocket to compete for National Security Space Launch contracts.[8]
In 2024 the company had raised more than $500 million for the development and operation of their rocket. The sum was made up from both venture funding and from secured launch contracts with major clients.[1]
In November 2024, after a string of failures the company announced it was exiting the commercial space orbital launch market, and announced a pivot towards military applications,[9] potentially leveraging their previous launch vehicles and engines to be used in missile defense technologies.[1] Long Wall has also closed down their El Segundo office and Mojave Test site, relocating entirely to Long Beach facility.[10]
In February 2025, CEO Dan Piedmont announced in a blog post that the company would rebrand to Long Wall, a name inspired by the Long Walls in Ancient Athens, and focus on developing missile defense systems and hypersonic flight test vehicles.[1]
See also
[edit]- Rocket Lab – New Zealand and American public spaceflight company
- Relativity Space – American launch vehicle manufacturer
- Firefly Aerospace – American private aerospace company
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Erwin, Sandra (21 February 2025). "ABL Space renamed Long Wall as it shifts focus to defense market". SpaceNews. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Long Wall". www.lwall.com. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Even Rockets Can Be Simple". ABL Space Systems. 2020. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "ABL Space Systems Signs Lease with JDA to Begin Operations in Camden County". Business Wire. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ Clark, Carol A. (29 December 2019). "Spaceport America announces test operations of ABL Space Systems". Los Alamos Daily Post. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Company—ABL Space Systems : Site Map". ABL. Archived from the original on 17 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Port of Long Beach Attracts Another Space Tech Tenant". Port of Long Beach. 28 October 2021.
- ^ Eric Berger. "Col. Douglas Pentecost of the Air Force has referred to companies including Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, Blue Origin, and ABL Space as "Lane 1" entrants for national security launch. He revealed that ABL is also working on larger rocket, which the company hasn't talked about". Twitter. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Berger, Eric (15 November 2024). "As ABL Space departs launch, the 1-ton rocket wars have a clear winner". Ars Technica. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ Fernholz, Tim (27 November 2024). "ABL Replaces CEO To Build A Missile Defense System". Payload. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- RS1 rocket details
- launch system details Archived 18 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
