Firefly Black, LLC has been selected by NASA for the launch of Mission Two of the Venture Class Launch Service Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract — Mission Two involves launch of two cubesat constellations to a 550 km SSO, separated by a minimum of 10 degrees in plane change.
Firefly Black will bridge demand between pure small launch capability and that provided by the National Security Space Launch program by providing a family of small-to-medium launchers and in-space transportation services. Firefly Black, LLC is the national security and civil space subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace.
Firefly Black provides launch services to Department of Defense, intelligence community, and civil space customers seeking small-to-medium launch solutions for up to ten metric tons of payload to low earth orbit (LEO).
Using Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha and Beta launch vehicles and Space Utility Vehicle, Firefly Black provides America with industry leading capability at the lowest cost/kg in the emerging small launch vehicle class. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Firefly Black also performs Legislative and Executive Branch outreach and advocacy supporting the small satellite and small launch industries.
“Firefly Black is pleased to have been selected by NASA for this operationally challenging mission. We applaud NASA’s commitment to the nation’s emerging small launch industrial base and look forward to supporting America’s civil space launch needs for many years,” said Leslie Kovacs, company President. “The all-private development of our Alpha launch vehicle, and the impending completion of our Space Launch Complex 2 conversion at Vandenberg AFB, are on schedule to support the maiden Firefly Alpha launch in the first quarter of 2021. The men and women of Firefly, and our supply chain partners, are excited by this partnership with NASA.”
