NASA is betting that Texas-based Firefly Aerospace can help pave the way for a return to the moon with their unmanned lunar lander called Blue Ghost
We’re incredibly fortunate to have Bretton Alexander join the Firefly leadership team.
August 4, 2023Firefly Aerospace Names Former Blue Origin Executive and NASA Advisor Bretton Alexander as Chief Revenue OfficerCedar Park, Texas, August 4, 2023 – Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced it named Bretton “Brett” Alexander as its Chief Revenue Officer to accelerate growth and foster new and existing customers across Firefly’s launch, lunar, and on-orbit services. Alexander has more than 30 years of civil, national security, and commercial experience in the aerospace industry, most recently serving as Blue Origin’s Vice President of Government Sales.“We’re incredibly fortunate to have Brett join the Firefly leadership team,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Brett’s global reputation, network, and experience in the space transportation market will be invaluable as we continue to ramp up production of Firefly’s launch, lunar, and on-orbit vehicles and manifest a growing number of government and commercial missions.”Based out of Washington D.C., Alexander will oversee all sales and customer relationships for Firefly in support of the company’s business strategy. In this position, he will lead business development planning and execution to drive significant revenue growth and achieve Firefly’s long-term market share, revenue, and profit objectives.“Firefly’s rapid innovation is setting a new standard in the aerospace industry, and I’m proud to join this passionate, hardworking team,” said Brett Alexander. “Firefly’s accomplishments, including their orbital Alpha flight, facility expansion, and development progress on their landers and orbital vehicles, are very real and just the beginning. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Firefly’s momentum and help accelerate the company’s growth.”Prior to joining Firefly, Alexander led Blue Origin’s government sales across civil and national security space sectors for more than 10 years. Previously, Alexander served in leadership roles at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, as well as senior advisor roles on the NASA Advisory Council and the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. Alexander’s former experience also includes senior policy analyst roles at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the Aerospace Corporation, and ANSER Corporation.
Alexander joins Firefly with more than 30 years of aerospace experience, including senior advisor and leadership roles at NASA, the White House, and NewSpace companies
Introducing Elytra: Our line of highly mobile and scalable orbital vehicles. Formerly known as our Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra offers more robust on-orbit solutions, including mobility, hosting, delivery, and servicing across cislunar space and beyond.
As the wings of a firefly, Elytra (pronounced ella-truh) is extending our customers’ reach across space. Learn more here:
August 8, 2023Firefly Aerospace Debuts Elytra Orbital Vehicles with Enhanced On-Orbit Mobility and ServicesFormerly known as Firefly’s Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra now offers a more robust vehicle line to provide rapid on-orbit solutions when and where customers need themCedar Park, Texas, August 8, 2023 – Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, announced the expansion of its on-orbit services with a line of highly mobile and scalable orbital vehicles named Elytra. As the wings of a firefly, Elytra (pronounced ella-truh) offers on-orbit mobility, hosting, delivery, and servicing across cislunar space and beyond. When launched on Firefly’s small- and medium-lift launch vehicles, Elytra can service the entire lifecycle of government and commercial missions.“Elytra further expands Firefly’s on-orbit services by opening access to more orbits, extending the life of each mission, and providing deorbiting services to help minimize space debris,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Our robust vehicle line gives us a unique advantage to quickly launch, deploy, and service satellites on-orbit in response to dynamic changes in space.”Formerly known as Firefly’s Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra offers three vehicle models – Elytra Dawn, Elytra Dusk, and Elytra Dark – that travel further into space to support larger, more advanced on-orbit missions. Optimized for low Earth orbit (LEO), Elytra Dawn can be rapidly launched to support responsive hosting, rideshare, and delivery missions. Elytra Dusk offers enhanced maneuverability, power, and autonomy to provide responsive on-orbit tasking, such as relocation, space domain awareness, and deorbiting services, from LEO to geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Elytra Dark is ruggedized to serve as persistent orbital infrastructure and support transfers from LEO to lunar orbit and beyond.“Firefly’s Elytra vehicles are scalable and customizable to support each customer’s unique on-orbit needs,” said Jana Spruce, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. “Utilizing many of the same flight-proven components from Firefly’s launch vehicles and landers, Elytra supports rapid mission schedules while providing affordable access across cislunar space and beyond.”Designed, manufactured, and tested in-house, Elytra utilizes flight-proven hardware flown on Firefly’s Alpha vehicle and qualified systems common to Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, including the carbon composite structures, core avionics, and propulsion systems. Elytra also utilizes the on-orbit heritage and learnings from Spaceflight’s Sherpa vehicle following Firefly’s recent acquisition of the company.Firefly’s first Elytra mission is scheduled to launch in 2024 aboard Firefly’s Alpha vehicle. For more information about the Elytra vehicle, visit www.fireflyspace.com/elytra.
Our Blue Ghost lunar lander panels are lookin' good for our first mission to the Moon! Propulsion lines are nearly fully installed as we get ready to stack the in-house manufactured panels.
Excited to announce Firefly’s new multi-launch agreement with @L3HarrisTech for three dedicated launches on our Alpha vehicle in 2026. We’re honored to support missions that further advance our national security.
September 5, 2023Firefly Aerospace Awarded Multi-Launch Agreement with L3HarrisCedar Park, Texas, September 5, 2023 – Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced it signed a multi-launch agreement with L3Harris Technologies [NYSE:LHX] for three dedicated launches on Firefly’s Alpha vehicle in 2026. The agreement further positions Firefly as the leader in small-lift launch services as the company ramps up production of its Alpha vehicle to support the growing needs of both government and commercial customers.“Firefly is honored to support the ongoing mission needs of L3Harris as they continue to deliver satellite systems that advance our national security,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Firefly’s team, facilities, and manufacturing capabilities are positioned to rapidly respond to industry demand for our small- and medium-lift launch services, ensuring mission success for each customer.”Firefly will provide rapid launch capabilities for L3Harris to achieve direct access to low Earth orbit at a lower cost and support the responsive space needs of the U.S. government. The three missions will launch from Firefly’s SLC-2 launch site at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.With the capability to launch more than 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit, Firefly’s Alpha vehicle provides affordable, responsive, and reliable launch services for small satellites and spacecraft. Firefly is ramping up Alpha production at its rocket manufacturing and test site in Briggs, Texas, to support multiple government and commercial launches, while also doubling the size of its facilities to support the ongoing development of its medium launch vehicle that will first launch in 2025.
What's the reason behind the current thread title? It seems to me that the company is still called Firefly Aerospace according to their social media accounts, their website and their press releases.
Quote from: Fmedici on 09/06/2023 06:27 amWhat's the reason behind the current thread title? It seems to me that the company is still called Firefly Aerospace according to their social media accounts, their website and their press releases.I believe they changed their website to fireflyspace.com, and from this it was concluded that they're definitely going to change their name to Firefly Space any day now so the thread might as well get ahead of the curve.I too thought it didn't make sense.
Another big lunar win! Firefly was awarded its third @NASA CLPS contract to provide radio frequency calibration services from lunar orbit. As part of Blue Ghost Mission 2, these services will allow NASA’s LuSEE-Night radio telescope to further unlock the origins of the universe. Learn more here:
September 12, 2023Firefly Awarded $18 Million NASA Contract to Provide Radio Frequency Calibration Services from Lunar OrbitCedar Park, Texas, September 12, 2023 – Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, was awarded an $18 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to provide radio frequency calibration services from lunar orbit as part of Blue Ghost Mission 2, Firefly’s second mission to the Moon in 2026. This contract marks Firefly’s third NASA CLPS task order, totaling nearly $230 million to date for lunar payload services.“Firefly is honored to support the growing lunar infrastructure that’s enabling the next generation of space exploration and unlocking new insights about the dark ages of our universe,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “As Firefly’s third NASA CLPS award, this mission is another example of how our robust vehicle lines and mission services support the needs of our customers.”Blue Ghost Mission 2 uses a two-stage vehicle configuration, including Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander stacked on an Elytra Dark orbital vehicle. Serving as the Blue Ghost transfer vehicle, Elytra will first deploy the Blue Ghost lander and the European Space Agency’s Lunar Pathfinder satellite in lunar orbit. Blue Ghost will then touch down on the far side of the Moon with NASA’s LuSEE-Night radio telescope.Elytra will remain in lunar orbit to provide radio frequency calibration services for LuSEE-Night with a deployable antenna designed and built in collaboration with MMA Design, Inc. and Vulcan Wireless. These services provided from lunar orbit will prep LuSEE-Night for its mission to uncover new insights about the origins of the universe. Elytra will also serve as the communications relay for the Blue Ghost lander throughout its surface mission.“Paired together, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander and Elytra orbital vehicle greatly expand our mission capabilities and provide robust payload services from Earth to the Moon and beyond,” said Jana Spruce, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. “Utilizing common components across all our product lines, our spacecraft are designed to be highly mobile, scalable, and customizable, serving the needs of NASA, international government agencies, and the broader commercial industry.”Firefly utilizes common core avionics, power systems, propulsion components, and carbon composite structures across its launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles to reduce costs and scale efficiencies.The company is in the final assembly phase of its Blue Ghost lunar lander for its first mission to the Moon in 2024 as it concurrently ramps up for its second mission, which offers additional payload capacity for surface delivery and orbital services for commercial customers. Firefly is also preparing for multiple Alpha launches in the coming months and its first Elytra mission in 2024.About Firefly AerospaceFirefly Aerospace is an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and on-orbit services. Headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners (“AEI”) focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide the space industry with a single source for missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. For more information, visit www.fireflyspace.com.Media Contact[email protected]
As part of Firefly’s second mission to the Moon, the calibration services will allow NASA’s LuSEE-Night radio telescope to further unlock the origins of the universe
I wonder if having super slow mo like this (ideally even slower) is useful for the engine folks. I mean, it seems like there's usable information here. Maybe slow mo cameras are a good tool for diagnosing startup sequences or something.
Quote from: chopsticks on 09/19/2023 03:39 amI wonder if having super slow mo like this (ideally even slower) is useful for the engine folks. I mean, it seems like there's usable information here. Maybe slow mo cameras are a good tool for diagnosing startup sequences or something.Always have been (start from 5:30).
Quote from: edzieba on 09/19/2023 12:39 pmQuote from: chopsticks on 09/19/2023 03:39 amI wonder if having super slow mo like this (ideally even slower) is useful for the engine folks. I mean, it seems like there's usable information here. Maybe slow mo cameras are a good tool for diagnosing startup sequences or something.Always have been (start from 5:30).Cool! Thanks for that. I wonder how often they are used by the various rocket companies in their test firings these days.
And this is only a single preburner.
Quote from: rakaydos on 09/19/2023 12:52 amAnd this is only a single preburner.I mean it's a tap-off cycle Reaver right; no preburner?
