Publications
Publications
- February 2025
- HBS Case Collection
Fly, Fix, Fly at True Anomaly
By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and David Allen
Abstract
How should companies learn from failure? Founded by four U.S. Space Force warfighters, the tough tech startup True Anomaly wanted to compete with major defense contractors to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with satellites and software that could help protect U.S. interests in the increasingly competitive domain of space. In March 2024, just two years after the company was founded, True Anomaly launched a pair of autonomous orbital vehicles (AOVs) known as Jackals, only to see them fail within minutes of entering orbit. CEO Even Rogers and his leadership team were in a race against time. Needing flight experience before they were due to play their part in a crucial and potentially lucrative Space Force mission in fall 2025, they scrambled to learn what had gone wrong with their first two satellites, and asked themselves whether they should sprint to fly again soon.
Keywords
Business Startups; Engineering; National Security; Digital Platforms; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Aerospace Industry; United States; Colorado
Citation
Krieger, Joshua Lev, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray, and David Allen. "Fly, Fix, Fly at True Anomaly." Harvard Business School Case 825-040, February 2025.