Firefly Aerospace deployed three customer payloads to low Earth orbit early Saturday morning using the company-built Alpha launch vehicle. The Space Launch Delta 30 unit said Saturday the rocket lifted off at 3:01 a.m. Eastern time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of Firefly’s small vehicle demonstration effort. Alpha completed an elliptical […] More

Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace have teamed up to build the first-stage Antares rocket upgrade and a medium launch vehicle to support customers in national security, civilian and commercial space launch markets. “Through our collaboration, we will first develop a fully domestic version of our Antares rocket, the Antares 330, for Cygnus space station commercial […] More

Peter Schumacher, a partner at private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, has been appointed to serve as CEO of Firefly Aerospace on an interim basis. He replaces Tom Markusic, who has transitioned from the chief executive role to full-time member of the board of directors and chief technical adviser at Firefly, the company said Wednesday. […] More

Firefly Aerospace has raised $75 million in a round of Series B financing led by AE Industrial Partners and will use the capital to support future flights of its Alpha launch vehicle and advance the development of the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Program and other launch and in-space platforms. AEI said Tuesday it also completed […] More

Firefly Aerospace will lift off Rogue Space Systems‘ orbital transport vehicle in the third quarter of 2023 under a new launch service agreement signed between the two companies. Rogue Space said Monday it has secured the entire capacity aboard Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle for the Fred OTV, which will carry satellites from Rogue Space customers. The agreement […] More

Firefly Aerospace has tapped Redwire to deliver core avionics and optical navigation system for the former’s Blue Ghost lander, which will send science and technology payloads to the moon in 2023 as part of a NASA initiative. Under the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, Firefly will deliver 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations […] More

Lauren Lyons, former executive at Blue Origin and SpaceX, was appointed as chief operating officer at Firefly Aerospace where she will be responsible for driving efforts in scaling production and operations to support company growth. The new COO will focus on moving Firefly toward a production environment from its research and development setting to ensure […] More

SpaceX has been selected to launch a Firefly Aerospace-built lunar lander in 2023 using the Falcon 9 rocket for NASA’s mission to land science and technology payloads on the moon’s surface. Firefly said Thursday it will use the Blue Ghost spacecraft to deploy 10 technologies for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, as part of […] More

Firefly Aerospace has raised $75 million in a round of Series A financing led by DADA Holdings and $100 million through a secondary transaction that includes the sale of holdings owned by its major investor Noosphere Ventures. Astera Institute, Canon Ball and other investors participated in the Series A round, which gives Firefly a valuation of more than $1 billion.

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General Atomics' electromagnetic systems business has selected Firefly Aerospace to perform launch services for a GA-EMS satellite carrying an instrument that NASA will use to study how aerosols in the atmosphere affect human health. Firefly will use its Alpha rocket to launch the Orbital Test Bed satellite, equipped with the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols instrument, in 2022 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, General Atomics said Thursday.

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Firefly Aerospace has appointed Deborah Lee James and Robert Cardillo, who are both Wash100 Award recipients, to its board of directors, joining Firefly CEO Tom Markusic. The board will be led by James, who will serve as chairman. “We are thrilled to have Debbie and Robert join the Firefly Board of Directors,” said Markusic. 

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Firefly Aerospace plans to raise $350 million in funds to ramp up production, advance long-term growth initiatives and further develop a larger launch vehicle, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. Tom Markusic, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said the company would use $125 million of the funds to support “product enhancements” such as tooling and facilities to scale up the production of its launch vehicles.

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