Jim Cantrell’s Phantom Space Aims for Launch in 2 Years
Tucson.com reports about Jim Cantrell’s new launch company, Phantom Space. He formed the company after leaving the position of CEO of Vector, a launch company that went bankrupt.
Cantrell, who was an early member of Elon Musk’s SpaceX team, said he was convinced to start another satellite tech company by Michael D’Angelo, a former colleague at Vector, after the pair figured they could use the many lessons they took from Vector.
The pair co-founded Phantom Space with Michal Prywata, a biotech business executive who is investor and chief strategy officer for Phantom.
Cantrell said Phantom is taking a broader view of the still-evolving New Space industry, which has been driven by the rapid development of tiny satellites for research and communications.
Rather than create a vertically integrated company that builds everything from the ground up, Phantom is using existing technologies — notably including proven, off-the-shelf engines for its launch vehicles — and integrating them into systems to serve its customers…
After setting up a small shop on East Speedway, Phantom is in the process of building four launch vehicles and hopes to launch its first orbital flight in about two years, skipping suborbital test flights, Cantrell said.
11 responses to “Jim Cantrell’s Phantom Space Aims for Launch in 2 Years”
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Jim Cantrell talks more than he launches
That’s pretty much par for the course in NewSpace. Even Elon tweets more than he launches. And Peter Beck is pretty chatty.
Based on the linked article, though, Cantrell has dialed it down some since his Vector days.
I’ll admit to also having been skeptical of this guy, but the linked article says some of his staffers at Phantom are ex-Vectorites. So there are at least a few ex-Vector hands who don’t appear to blame him overmuch for Vector’s crash and burn. I gotta figure they know more than I do – I wasn’t there and they were.
Sigh. Did he license something from Arca Space this time perhaps ?
Heh. But no. The linked article says the engines will be supplied by Ursa Major Technologies.
Since I’m a local, I went and looked up any listing for this enterprise. Two are mail boxes on the East side of town and one residential apartment block. He already was supposed to have had a source of engines ready to go based on the Garvey line of hardware. I’ve been in touch with some of the leftovers from Vector and the things I heard about the LV’s state of development after raising all that money were pretty sad.
Thanks for checking.
Considering how Cantrell disasterously ran Vector into the ground, it’s mind boggling how he managed to attract yet another investor.
Guess the saying that there’s a sucker born every minute is true. 😛
Attracting investors seems to be one of Cantrell’s core competencies. Having tried and failed to do the same myself on a couple occasions, I don’t underrate this capability at all. But he’s not an engineer and Vector really foundered on the failure of its engineering. So this time around, he’s planning to buy most of the engineering he needs ala carte. I can see where that might be a convincing pitch to a potential backer – fewer uncertainties and quicker to market.
notably including proven, off-the-shelf engines for its launch vehicles — Maybe he meant motors. N-G has solids. It might work. I do not not know of a liquid available with that description.
I know you’ll be disappointed, but there will be no solid motors involved.
The article Doug linked to says Phantom plans to use engines from Ursa Major Technologies. The Phantom vehicle is described as four feet in diameter with seven engines on the first stage and one on the second. The engines are probably Ursa Major’s Hadleys. The Ursa Major company website says the Hadley is an oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) design running on kerolox and producing 5,000 lbf of thrust.
The “investor’s” salary was <$250K last year. The 8950 East Speedway address is for Family Discount Storage that has a few small outbuildings. Here in Camden County, we remember the amateur rocket Cantrell launched with much fanfare as if it was the Second Coming. (Spaceport Camden brags that the Thiokol main booster rocket motor tested here for the Apollo program was the spaceports’ first coming.) That was in 2017 and was the last rocket Vector ever launched. Not sure what Vector had to build on.
Here’s what Crunchbase says about Cantrell: “CoFounder of Vector Space building launch and orbital platforms to enable non expert users to develop space apps using our reliable space
transportation system and orbital platforms. Founder of StratSpace, a 50 person consulting firm headquartered in Tucson Arizona specializing in helping venture capital firms make profitable investments in the technology sectors and corporations grow and transition into successful acquisition targets. On founding team of SpaceX with internet pioneer Elon Musk developing technical concepts, markets and standing up the company including developing the overall corporate and product development strategy. Co-Founder of Phantom Space Corporation offering satellites, in space propulsion and launch vehicle technologies.”
Here’s a 2017 quote that will warm your heart from Jim Cantrell:
“I have bug bites on my scalp after joining search for @vectorspacesysrocket yesterday in @CamdenSpaceport jungle w/ gators snakes & pigs” alongside a picture of an alligator he must have seen in the Camden “jungle.”