Satnews Daily
December 23rd, 2018

Firefly Aerospace Enters Launch Agreement with Spaceflight


Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (Firefly) has executed a Launch and Brokerage Services Agreement (LBSA) with Spaceflight — through the LBSA, Spaceflight will offer dedicated rideshare launch opportunities on the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle and work with Firefly to manifest excess Alpha capacity.

Executive Comments

Firefly CEO, Dr. Tom Markusic, said that Spaceflight has a proven expertise in payload aggregation and mission management. The firm's recent SSO-A dedicated rideshare mission set a new standard for complex smallsat aggregation and deployment and was a significant step forward for the entire NewSpace industry.

Curt Blake, Spaceflight CEO, added that with the expanding smallsat market comes the need for more dedicated rideshare missions. The Firefly Alpha 630kg-to-SSO payload capacity is an ideal size for frequent and affordable rideshare opportunities, and we’re looking forward to adding this capacity to our offering to help more organizations get to space.

Les Kovacs, Firefly VP of Business Development, added that this is an exciting time for the space industry. The advanced capabilities offered by the next generation of smallsats will allow novel applications of space-based capabilities. The company's partnership with Spaceflight will ensure that heritage aerospace companies and NewSpace entrepreneurs have access to the shared resource of LEO and the launch capability required to successfully execute their business plans.