Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company with a proven track record in developing advanced space vehicles and delivering comprehensive mission solutions for national security, U.S. government, and commercial customers. The company provides both launch and spacecraft solutions. Launch Division: Firefly Aerospace’s Launch division has developed Alpha, a U.S.-based orbital rocket in the 1,000-kilogram class, which has successfully completed four launches to date. The company is also developing Eclipse, a reusable version of Alpha, in collaboration with Northrop Grumman. Eclipse is designed to deliver payloads up to 16,000 kilograms and is scheduled for its first launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, as early as 2026. This vehicle will support a broad range of missions including space station resupply, deployment of commercial spacecraft, national security operations, and scientific payloads for both domestic and international markets. Spacecraft Solutions Division: Firefly Aerospace’s Spacecraft Solutions division has achieved several significant milestones. It developed the Blue Ghost Lander, the only commercial vehicle to achieve a fully successful Moon landing and the first U.S.-based lander to complete a lunar surface mission since NASA’s Apollo 17 in 1972. Firefly also operates a flight-proven spacecraft that has functioned across Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary Orbit (GEO), and Cislunar space. Additionally, Firefly Aerospace has introduced Elytra, a high-thrust spacecraft platform enabling a new range of capabilities in space domain awareness, on-orbit edge processing, long-range communications, and advanced space exploration. Elytra supports a variety of missions across multiple orbital regimes, including satellite delivery, orbital transfers, hosted payloads, and communications relays. This platform positions Firefly to play a critical role in establishing U.S. and allied dominance in space-based national security operations. Elytra will also support upcoming Blue Ghost missions, demonstrating the scalability and readiness of the underlying technology. Furthermore, it will serve in a responsive on-orbit mission for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), performing multiple Rendezvous Proximity Operations (RPO) and space domain awareness tasks on demand. Firefly Aerospace also plans to offer Ocula, a lunar imaging service enabled by Elytra, with an expected launch as early as 2026.