List Honors Groundbreaking Innovations from Companies Revolutionizing the Way We Work and Live

Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime that is Building a Platform in Space to Benefit Life on Earth^®, today announced that it has been named by Fast Company in the publication’s annual Next Big Things in Tech list, which recognizes emerging technology that has a profound impact on its respective industry.

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Sierra Space has been named by Fast Company in the publication’s annual Next Big Things in Tech list. (Graphic: Sierra Space)

Sierra Space was named one of three winners in the Space and Telecom category – and stands alone as the sole space company recognized in the overall list – recognizing the potential impact its technology has to completely transform the lives of consumers, businesses and society overall. The leading space company is building an end-to-end business and technology platform in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its Dream Chaser^® spaceplane, expandable space station technology and defense satellites to protect and defend a burgeoning commercial ecosystem in LEO.

For its Next Big Things in Tech list, Fast Company specifically calls out Sierra Space for "reinventing cargo transportation to and from the ISS," a reference to the company's commercial services contract with NASA to resupply the space station starting in 2025.

When Dream Chaser "begins cargo service to the ISS next year, it will restore runway landings to civilian space transportation for the first time since the space shuttle's 2011 retirement," according to journalist Rob Pegoraro, writing for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech. "That means a much gentler landing for delicate payloads being returned to Earth, followed by faster delivery to research facilities here." (See Fast Company's The 3 next big things in space and telecom for 2024)

Featuring 138 technologies total, Next Big Things in Tech honors companies ranging in size, including established brands, startups and research teams across various industries, from education and sustainability to robotics and artificial intelligence. While not all technologies are currently available on the market, each are hitting significant milestones to have a proven impact in the next five years.

More than 1,300 applications were evaluated by Fast Company’s editors. Submissions were judged based on the technology's importance, difficulties encountered during development, proof of its success during the previous 12 months, and its future impact.

Click here to see the complete list.

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space is a leading commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space in the Orbital Age^®, building an end-to-end business and technology platform in space to benefit life on Earth. With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, the company is reinventing both space transportation with Dream Chaser^®, the world’s only commercial spaceplane, and the future of space destinations with the company’s inflatable and expandable space station technology. Using commercial business models, the company is also delivering orbital services to commercial, DoD and national security organizations, expanding production capacity to meet the needs of constellation programs. In addition, Sierra Space builds a host of systems and subsystems across solar power, mechanics and motion control, environmental control, life support, propulsion and thermal control, offering myriad space-as-a-service solutions for the new space economy.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Brendan Vaughan. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication, Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com.

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