Rocket engine maker Ursa Major just handed the controls to a new boss, and the Denver region’s space sector is watching closely to see how fast he can push the throttle.
The Berthoud-based propulsion company promoted Chris Spagnoletti to chief executive on Thursday, elevating a 30-year aerospace veteran as it accelerates its production push across Colorado. The move puts an internal operations leader in charge while the firm ramps up rocket motor manufacturing and prepares a new 400-acre test site north of the Denver metro area.
The leadership shuffle was first reported by the Denver Business Journal, which highlighted Spagnoletti’s long tenure in aerospace and Ursa Major’s drive toward larger-scale production. The outlet noted that Spagnoletti joined Ursa Major in 2022 and had been leading the company’s liquid systems business before the promotion, framing the move as an internal handoff timed with a companywide scale-up…