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OUR LAUNCH VEHICLES Firefly is building launch vehicles to service the small to medium satellite market. Alpha will be capable of delivering 1 metric ton to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the larger Beta launch vehicle will be capable of delivering up to 4 metric tons to LEO and smaller payloads to GTO. Both vehicles utilize systems that draw on well established rocket technology, such as LOx/RP, pump-fed, regeneratively cooled engines. Modern advances in aerospace composite materials are used to create strong, lightweight primary structures such as propellant tanks. Avionics systems, such as the flight computer and communication system, employ COTS components with established flight heritage. Firefly’s approach supports high reliability and low cost.
Firefly’s Development and Launch Facilities Texas is home to Firefly’s headquarters, production and test facilities. A 20,000-square-foot design campus in Cedar Park, just north of Austin, houses the corporate headquarters, engineering staff, prototyping facilities and manufacturing capabilities, including five-axis CNC machining. The Briggs operations facility, a 200-acre test and production site, only 25 miles from headquarters, is home to propulsion, structures and materials testing. The Briggs facility also houses electroplating, carbon composite tank manufacturing and filament winding and is expanding to support full-scale component manufacturing and launch vehicle assembly. A horizontal engine test stand, a vertical stage test stand and high pressure component stand are available for low cost rapid development testing.
PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS Firefly’s business plan is rooted in technical realism and is based on sound engineering technologies that already exist, such as composite structures and open cycle LOx/RP engines. Recently, Firefly has completed the major milestone of performing integrated testing of the Alpha second stage and has completed the initial phase of securing the license to operate from existing VAFB and CCAFS launch sites. Firefly is committed to doing its part to restore U.S. leadership in the small to medium launch market and is establishing international offices and strategic partnerships to effectively serve the global market. At a price of $15M for 1,000 kg to LEO with high reliability and schedule credibility, Firefly will lead the industry in launch service mission success.
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