Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY) has announced a new contract with the Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit and Space Development Agency to complete a preliminary design review (PDR) for a mission providing deorbit services using Firefly’s Elytra spacecraft. Following completion of the PDR, Firefly will be eligible to compete for the next phase of the mission, including launch and spacecraft operations.
“Firefly is known for performing some of the hardest missions in space, and this mission is no exception,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “In alignment with the White House order to prioritize orbital debris mitigation, our team designed a highly efficient, cost-effective solution for our Elytra vehicles to deorbit satellites nearing end of life. This dialable system can deorbit satellites of vastly different sizes and configurations to help mitigate the growing space debris challenge our industry is up against.”
Under Firefly’s mission design, Elytra would be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) before manoeuvring to the client space object. The spacecraft would then perform rendezvous and proximity operations, survey the client object and complete the deorbit service.
Firefly’s proprietary deorbit system integrated onto Elytra is designed to support satellite deorbit operations in low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit (MEO) and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
Firefly is also under contract with the Defense Innovation Unit to conduct a space domain awareness mission using its Elytra spacecraft no earlier than 2027. With the core flight structures complete, the team has entered the spacecraft integration and testing phase for that mission.
Elytra’s high-thrust manoeuvrability, fuel reserves and payload capacity are designed to support responsive in-space services, including payload delivery and deorbit operations, long-haul communications, surveillance and lunar imaging.
The scalable, multi-mission Elytra spacecraft use flight-proven components from Firefly’s launch vehicles and lunar landers. These include core avionics, composite structures and a propulsion system that successfully supported the Blue Ghost lunar landing.
