ABL Space Systems
- 🦄Became a unicorn2021
- 📈Peak valuation$2.4 Billion ’21
- 💔Became a Unitard2024
- 💸Last valuation~$24M
The rise & fall
6 moments · 2017–2026The key moments.
How it happened
ABL Space Systems, founded in El Segundo in 2017 by Harry O'Hanley and Dan Piemont, built a containerized, truck-deployable small-satellite rocket, the RS1, and reached a $2.4B valuation in October 2021 on a $200M Series B extension backed by T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and Lockheed Martin.
The hardware never reached orbit: the maiden RS1 failed seconds after liftoff in January 2023, and a July 2024 static-fire explosion in Kodiak, Alaska destroyed the second vehicle in damage the company called irrecoverable. In November 2024 ABL abandoned commercial launch to pivot to missile-defense work, rebranding as Long Wall in early 2025.
The company still operates, but Capital Group funds marked their preferred shares down about 99%, from $68 in late 2021 to under a dollar, in SEC filings.
Glassdoor reviews from 2022 and 2023, around the failed launches, described long hours, inexperienced upper management and internal friction before ratings steadied.
Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.
Mutual-fund markdowns
16 funds · SEC NPORT-PHow U.S. mutual funds fair-value this still-private company in their quarterly SEC filings.
| Fund | Class | $/sh | From peak | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth Fund of America | Preferred | $0.66 | -98% | Feb 2026 |
| SMALLCAP World Fund Inc | Preferred | $0.66 | -98% | Dec 2025 |
| T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Global Allocation Fund | Preferred | $1.64 | +0% | Jul 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Stock Fund, Inc. | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value Fund, Inc. | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Portfolio | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Spectrum Conservative Allocation Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | May 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Spectrum Moderate Allocation Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | May 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Spectrum Moderate Growth Allocation Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | May 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Institutional Small-Cap Stock Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Large-Cap Growth Fund | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Moderate Allocation Portfolio | Preferred | $0.06 | -73% | Jun 2026 |
| SMALLCAP World Fund Inc | $0.00 | +0% | Sep 2024 | |
| T. Rowe Price Global Stock Fund | Preferred | $1.64 | +0% | Jul 2026 |
| Growth Fund of America | $0.00 | — | May 2024 | |
| T. Rowe Price Multi-Strategy Total Return Fund | Preferred | $0.22 | — | Oct 2025 |
Source: SEC EDGAR Form NPORT-P (Level-3 fair-value marks). Per-share marks reflect the fund’s own valuation of a specific share class and aren’t a company-wide valuation. Last refreshed Oct 2026.
Source: SpaceNews / SatelliteToday (Oct 26, 2021): a $200M Series B extension at a $2.4B valuation (T. Rowe Price, Fidelity; Lockheed Martin strategic investor), up from $1.3B. RS1 maiden-flight failure Jan 10, 2023; Kodiak, Alaska static-fire loss Jul 19, 2024; commercial-launch exit announced Nov 2024; rebranded Long Wall Feb 2025 (newspaceeconomy.ca). SEC Form N-PORT: Capital Group's Growth Fund of America and SMALLCAP World Fund mark the 'ABL Space Systems' Series B preferred from $68 (Nov 2021) to ~$0.66 (2026), about -99%; T. Rowe Price funds carry the rebranded 'Long Wall' preferred at $0.06-$0.22 in 2026. A markdown, not a death — the company operates in defense. Founded 2017 by Harry O'Hanley and Dan Piemont.
Founders
- Harry O'Hanleyco-founder & founding CEO (led at peak, 2017-2024)
Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-10-13. See our methodology.
Disclosed investors (9)
Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.
* Lead in a funding round · Crunchbase ↗ · 2026-10-13 · Methodology · Leaderboard
