Firefly Space : Company and Development General Thread

[edzieba]

I know it's nit-pickey, but that is clearly not completed work. The shiny kit is sitting on the desks but visibly not connected, and the boxes to drive it no not appear to have been installed yet.
And if their MAC contractor thinks leaving screens flopping about the place like that is an acceptable standard for completed work, that's a contractor to avoid!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Firefly signs launch agreement with Spaceflight
by Jeff Foust — April 22, 2020

WASHINGTON — Firefly Aerospace has signed a contract with Spaceflight to be the primary customer for a rideshare mission on Firefly’s Alpha small launch vehicle in 2021.

Under the launch services agreement announced April 22, Spaceflight will provide the payloads for the “majority” of the payload capacity of the Alpha mission, projected to take place in the middle of 2021.

https://spacenews.com/firefly-signs-launch-agreement-with-spaceflight/

[Chris Bergin]

Firefly Aerospace and Spaceflight are today announcing they've signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA), with Spaceflight securing the majority of the payload mass aboard a Firefly Alpha launch vehicle scheduled for lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base next year.

Spaceflight will also help to maximize payload capacity aboard future Alpha launches as well.

irefly Aerospace and Spaceflight Inc. Sign Launch Services Agreement

Part of a long-term strategic collaboration to meet growing demand for reliable space access, the agreement establishes Spaceflight as the lead customer aboard upcoming Firefly Alpha launch

CEDAR PARK, Texas/SEATTLE– April 22, 2020 – Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, and Spaceflight Inc., the leading launch services and mission management provider, today announced they have signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA). The agreement confirms that Spaceflight will secure the majority of the payload mass aboard a Firefly Alpha launch, scheduled for lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2021.
In addition to being the anchor customer, Spaceflight will sign, manage, integrate, and deploy multiple payloads on the flight, enabling Firefly to maximize its full 630 kilogram launch capacity on the commercial Alpha mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Also, according to the LSA, Spaceflight will help maximize payload capacity aboard future Firefly Alpha launches.
“Spaceflight has long been committed to providing reliable, cost-effective access to space and we are eager to partner with Firefly, as both companies share this exciting vision,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “In fact, we have many customers in mind, including some specifically in APAC, which we believe will benefit from this additional capacity and flexibility. Spaceflight is honored to secure the primary payload aboard an Alpha flight in 2021, and we very much look forward to working closely with the Firefly team to accelerate more small satellite rideshare launches for the industry.”
”Alpha launches in 2021 will play a key role in establishing our manifest and production capability, and having Spaceflight’s deep payload integration expertise in our corner is an important part of our overall launch strategy,” said Dr. Tom Markusic, Firefly CEO. “Our Alpha launch vehicle will quickly fill a major market gap with the capability to deliver 1 metric ton to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 630 kilograms to the highly desirable 500 kilogram SSO, about four times the current payload capability of other small satellite launch vehicles.”
The Alpha launch vehicle is designed to address the needs and demands of the burgeoning small-satellite market, combining the highest payload performance with the lowest cost per kilogram to orbit in its vehicle class. Alpha will provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare missions.
Spaceflight has launched a record-setting 271 satellites via 29 rideshare missions, establishing itself as the leading rideshare service provider, offering comprehensive launch and integration services across a global portfolio of vehicles. Spaceflight successfully executed nine missions in 2019, the most rideshare launches the company has performed in one year. The company also completed the first-ever rideshare

mission to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) in 2019, launching the first privately funded lunar lander.
 
Leading up to the maiden flight of the Alpha launch vehicle later this year, final acceptance of the first and second stage will take place over the next several months at Firefly’s test facilities in Briggs, Texas, with hardware deployments to Vandenberg planned for early summer. Firefly teams are also integrating new composite technologies into its overall manufacturing capabilities, with the goal of significantly boosting production of its launch vehicles to align with demand growth over the next few years.

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE
Firefly is developing a family of launch and in-space vehicles and services that provide industry-leading affordability, convenience and reliability. Firefly’s launch vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to four metric tons of payload at the lowest cost/kg in the small-lift class. Combined with Firefly’s in-space vehicles, such as the Orbital Transfer Vehicle and Genesis Lander, Firefly provides the space industry with a one-stop shop for missions to the surface of the Moon or beyond.  Headquartered in Cedar Park TX, Firefly has additional presence in Washington, D.C. and Dnipro, Ukraine. Firefly is financed by Noosphere Ventures of Menlo Park, CA.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Apr 22, 2020, 08:00am EDT
This Rocket Company Is Staying Calm, Carrying On With Fresh Contract And A New Launch Date
Elizabeth Howell

Like just about every industry these days, novel coronavirus is affecting the space market. At Firefly Aerospace, this means the test of their new rocket — called Alpha — has been pushed back again a few months to Q3 2020 due to delays getting components from suppliers.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethhowell1/2020/04/22/this-rocket-company-is-staying-calm-carrying-on-with-fresh-contract-and-a-new-launch-date/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Firefly gains Quality Certification en route to maiden Alpha launch
written by Lee Kanayama May 6, 2020

Firefly has announced that they have received the AS9100 Quality Certification. This will allow Firefly to move from the development phase to the production phase as Firefly is getting ready for the maiden flight of the Alpha rocket.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/05/firefly-quality-certification-alpha-launch/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1258795655641927681

Firefly Aerospace is preparing Reaver engines for integration with Alpha Flight 1. Engines are acceptance tested on our horizontal test stand. This video shows the startup sequence of an engine, filmed at 1,000 frames per second.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/kerbalnut/status/1258797345560395776

What's that pulsing just before full ignition?

https://twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1258797953482964992

All normal. This is a high speed camera, so you are getting a view of engine ignition at 1,000 frames per second, compared with normal video at 30 or 60 frames per second.

[ShawnGSE]

How do you guys feel about the long term survival of this company?  Between the backing situation, what happened to them a few years ago, and current market I'm a little gun-shy.  That's a pretty loaded question but I'm asking because my resume has gotten interest there.  The pitch is good but I'm obviously concerned about the longevity of it all.

[JEF_300]

How do you guys feel about the long term survival of this company?  Between the backing situation, what happened to them a few years ago, and current market I'm a little gun-shy.  That's a pretty loaded question but I'm asking because my resume has gotten interest there.  The pitch is good but I'm obviously concerned about the longevity of it all.

I think being a bit gun-shy is fair given the circumstances. Still, I think Firefly has a pretty good shot at this point.

The funding, while from a... concerning source, is pretty stable. They're also pretty much guaranteed at this point to be the first smallsat launcher to market in the 1-ton range; everyone else is talking about launching next year. Because of that, if the 1-ton market really does exist, Firefly is almost assured to take a slice of it.

I'd go for it, but I've always been a little biased towards Firefly since they set up shop in my hometown.

[Mardlamock]

How do you guys feel about the long term survival of this company?  Between the backing situation, what happened to them a few years ago, and current market I'm a little gun-shy.  That's a pretty loaded question but I'm asking because my resume has gotten interest there.  The pitch is good but I'm obviously concerned about the longevity of it all.

They either have infinite money or monopoly money.

[TrevorMonty]

Few hurdles yet overcome before being successful.
1 Place LV on pad (should happen)
2 Launch successfully. (Big hurdle to overcome on first few launches)
3 Build manufacturing base to support 10 launches a year. (Expensive and not as easy as it seems according to Peter Beck )
4 Most importantly find enough customers to support 5-10 launches a year. (No problem 3 months ago before CORVID19, but now alot of those customers will disappear as investor money dries up)

[ShawnGSE]

Few hurdles yet overcome before being successful.
1 Place LV on pad (should happen)
2 Launch successfully. (Big hurdle to overcome on first few launches)
3 Build manufacturing base to support 10 launches a year. (Expensive and not as easy as it seems according to Peter Beck )
4 Most importantly find enough customers to support 5-10 launches a year. (No problem 3 months ago before CORVID19, but now alot of those customers will disappear as investor money dries up)

#1 would be a big part of my responsibly.  Yea this current economic environment really worries me because from what I understand they are just funded through launch.  But I'm very interested in getting back into the space launch industry and they seem better positioned than anyone else. 

[novak]

How do you guys feel about the long term survival of this company?  Between the backing situation, what happened to them a few years ago, and current market I'm a little gun-shy.  That's a pretty loaded question but I'm asking because my resume has gotten interest there.  The pitch is good but I'm obviously concerned about the longevity of it all.

I have worked there since Firefly Space Systems and would be willing to answer questions via PM if it would be helpful. 

They either have infinite money or monopoly money.

My impression is somewhat in the middle.  Like most things, the answer is somewhere between zero and infinity. 

As far as general platitudes, I think 1) this economic situation should concern anyone, and 2) startups, especially launch vehicle startups, which have huge capital requirements, should be approached with some understanding of implicit risk.  That being said, my resume is out of date and I have no immediate reason to update or likelihood of updating it soon.

Few hurdles yet overcome before being successful.
1 Place LV on pad (should happen)
2 Launch successfully. (Big hurdle to overcome on first few launches)
3 Build manufacturing base to support 10 launches a year. (Expensive and not as easy as it seems according to Peter Beck )
4 Most importantly find enough customers to support 5-10 launches a year. (No problem 3 months ago before CORVID19, but now alot of those customers will disappear as investor money dries up)

I agree with this list in general except probably 4, which I do not expect to be difficult for small launchers currently.  The launch gap is still much larger than 5-10 smallsat launches per year.  (although maybe now people can shut up about launching 4-8 times a month next year or whatever crap I've heard from far too many companies).

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1260316105245163520

Firefly is currently acceptance testing all of the elements and systems for Alpha Flight 1. Today, the Stage 1 liquid oxygen (LOx) tank successfully passed acceptance testing! Alpha uses the world’s largest all-composite LOx tank, which allows Firefly to create the lightest,

https://twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1260316107321335808

strongest and lowest cost tanks in its class. Acceptance testing involved loading the tank with cryogenic liquid nitrogen and applying 250,000 pounds of axial force to the tank using Firefly’s new state of the art structural test stand.

[harrystranger]

Scorch marks from the recent Reaver acceptance test are visible from Sentinel-2 satellite images 

[gongora]

From NOAA license:

“TIS Serenity” is a 3u (100mm x 100mm x 300mm) educational cubesat weighing 1.6kg. The payload is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB on the Firefly Alpha rocket in summer of 2020. Deployment of TIS Serenity will be into a circular orbit of 300 km and inclination of 137°. The orbit lifetime due to natural decay is estimated to be about 11 to 32 days.

[Steven Pietrobon]

From NOAA license:

“TIS Serenity” is a 3u (100mm x 100mm x 300mm) educational cubesat weighing 1.6kg. The payload is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB on the Firefly Alpha rocket in summer of 2020. Deployment of TIS Serenity will be into a circular orbit of 300 km and inclination of 137°. The orbit lifetime due to natural decay is estimated to be about 11 to 32 days.

I believe this is the TISSCCE (Teachers in Space Standard Classroom Cubekit Equipment) that was announced previously.

[PM3]

"Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Issuing Firefly Aerospace a Launch License for the Alpha Launch Vehicle at Space Launch Complex 2 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Vandenberg, California"

See Attachment.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1263558526657531904

The Alpha Launch Control Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base. This is where Firefly’s motto “Making Space for Everyone” is commanded into reality!

[CameronD]

They're using NI LabView.. interesting but understandable given their laboratory approach thus far. https://www.ni.com/en-au/shop/labview.html

Hate the colour selection though - red/green is soooo 20th Century and industry has moved on since then.  IMHO, contrast-based displays work so much better in the intensive environment of a control room.