Jim Cantrell has left Vector, and the company may be in financial trouble

Enlarge / In May 2018, Vector launched a full-scale prototype of the Vector-R rocket on a short flight. (credit: Vector)

Vector, a micro-launch company founded in 2016 to build small rockets for payloads of up to 60kg, may be in financial trouble, multiple industry sources told Ars on Friday. A spokeswoman for Vector did not comment on that. However, she did confirm the company has parted ways with its chief executive: "Jim Cantrell is no longer with Vector effective today. John Garvey has assumed the role of CEO."

The company has been working on developing its Vector-R vehicle and trying to prepare it for a suborbital flight this summer. In an interview in April, Cantrell told Ars that he hoped to fly an upgraded version, Vector-R B1003, on an orbital flight from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska before the end of this year. The financial difficulties have reportedly arisen just after Vector received some good news in the form of a launch contract from the US Air Force.

Money and rockets

Cantrell brought venture capital experience when he joined with veteran rocket scientist John Garvey in 2016 to found Vector. The Garvey Spacecraft Corporation had been working on prototypes for a small launcher, and together Cantrell and Garvey decided to found the new company to bring the rocket through its development phase and commercialize it.