Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace, based in Texas, develops launch and spacecraft vehicles for small payloads. Its Alpha rocket, a 95-foot vehicle designed to carry up to 1,000 kg into low Earth orbit (LEO), costs USD 15 million per launch. After a failed first launch in September 2021, the second launch in October 2022 was successful. As of December 2024, the company was also developing Firefly Beta, a larger two-stage rocket with a payload capacity of up to 11,000 kg to LEO. The launch vehicle was expected to have the lowest cost per kg to orbit of all launch vehicles in the 8,000 kg and under class.

As of December 2024, Firefly was expanding its portfolio with a space utility vehicle for satellite transfers and the Blue Ghost lunar lander, capable of delivering 150 kg to the lunar surface for scientific research. The lander passed its Integration Readiness Review in April 2022. In June 2023, Firefly acquired Spaceflight Inc. to enhance its space transportation services and capabilities in lunar operations and on-orbit services. A year later, in June 2024, Firefly announced Alpha’s fifth launch, the "Noise of Summer," to deliver eight cubesats to LEO from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Key customers and partnerships

Firefly Aerospace has advanced its lunar and launch service capabilities through partnerships and contracts. In February 2021, the company secured a USD 93 million NASA contract under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for the Blue Ghost lander to deliver payloads to the Moon in 2023, supporting lunar surface research for future human missions. In September 2022, NASA selected Firefly’s Alpha rocket for the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions in the 500–1,000 kg weight range. The company also collaborated with Northrop Grumman to develop the Antares rocket and new medium launch vehicle.

In June 2023, Firefly signed a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin for a technology demonstration mission using the Alpha rocket. Earlier that year, it acquired a USD 112 million NASA CLPS contract for a lunar payload delivery mission in 2026. In September 2023, the company partnered with L3Harris Technologies for three missions in 2026 and expanded the agreement in August 2024 to include 20 additional launches from 2027 to 2031.

In November 2023, Firefly collaborated with Fleet Space Technologies to deliver the SPIDER payload to the Moon, which would gather seismic data over two weeks. In September 2024, Firefly secured a contract from NASA for the NOAA QuickSounder mission. The following month, it signed a multi-launch agreement with True Anomaly for the VICTUS HAZE mission in 2025 and was selected by the Space Development Agency under the HALO program for military satellite demonstration missions using Elytra vehicles.