Voyager expands solid rocket motor manufacturing in Colorado

Voyager Technologies said domestic production of tactical solid rocket motors is not keeping pace with Department of War demand, and detailed how the company is scaling manufacturing to close that gap.

Solid rocket motors combine fuel and oxidizer in a pressure vessel with a single nozzle exit point, producing thrust as soon as they are ignited. The motors can be manufactured, stored and remain ready for use for 10 to 20 years, according to Voyager, a characteristic the company said makes them useful for stockpiling ahead of need.

“We have a unique integration of expertise across Voyager, bringing together propulsion and defense systems that can deliver on the nation’s most demanding programs,” said Matt Magaña, president, Space, Defense and National Security, Voyager. “At the same time, our commercial approach keeps us agile. We’re operating under decades of mission-proven experience, while still innovating and moving at the speed national defense requires.”

Voyager said its motors typically use ammonium perchlorate as the oxidizer, combined with a liquid rubber binder and additives in a vacuum mixer to remove air bubbles before a curative solidifies the mixture in a cure oven. The company said it runs an in-house chemistry lab for raw material testing and process quality checks, and that one of its more complex propellants requires 84 separate quality tests on raw materials before production can begin. Voyager said samples are pulled during mixing and again before casting to test for properties including tensile strength, elongation and burn rate.

Voyager’s production model relies on a standardized library of propellant formulations that the company adapts to individual customer requirements, rather than developing new chemistry for each order. The company said small prototype motors have gone from contract to test fire in as few as three weeks, while more complex motors have taken roughly 180 days to complete and test fire.

“What differentiates Voyager is our library of proven propellant formulations that allows us to deliver without betting the program on unproven chemistry,” said Karl Kulling, general manager, Voyager Energetics. “We have the capability to innovate on the core chemistry when the mission demands it, but our default is to eliminate unnecessary risk and focus our innovation where it matters most: the manufacturing process.”

Voyager is building the Voyager American Defense Complex, a 150,000-square-foot (13,935-square-meter) facility at PuebloPlex in Pueblo, Colorado, the former U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot. The company broke ground on the facility in January 2026 and has said the site will incorporate automation to handle steps in the production process that previously required workers to be near energetic materials. Voyager acquired the site’s existing operations, along with the broader solid rocket motor business, when it purchased Estes Energetics in November 2025. Matt Magaña has estimated the company’s total investment in the Pueblo site at approximately $100 million.

“For the rapid reindustrialization the Pentagon wants, solid rocket motor capabilities must be built and qualified in the U.S.,” Kulling said. “We have the certification, rigorous safety oversight and the strategic capacity to meet the moment’s urgency and deliver for national defense.”

Voyager has said the Pueblo facility is expected to become operational later in 2026. The company reported $84.3 million in Golden Dome missile defense contract awards during the second quarter of 2026, and has said its solid rocket propulsion and energetics work through Estes Energetics is intended to support the Space-Based Interceptor program’s kill vehicle propulsion requirements.