Firefly Aerospace Inc. (FLY)

Firefly is a space and defense technology company that provides launch, in-space transit and on-orbit mission solutions to national security, government and commercial customers. Its stated mission is to enable responsive, regular and reliable launch, transit and operations in space. It began operations in 2017, reached orbit with its Alpha rocket in October 2022, and completed an initial public offering of its common stock on August 8, 2025. The company says Blue Ghost Mission 1, which landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025, was the first fully successful lunar landing by a commercial company.

The business is organized around Launch and Spacecraft Solutions. In Launch, Alpha is an operational liquid-powered rocket in the 1,000-kilogram payload class. It uses carbon composite structures and patented tap-off cycle engines developed in-house, and the company reports seven launches, including its 2021 inaugural flight, and more than 30 planned launches under contract as of December 31, 2025. Alpha has flown responsive missions such as VICTUS NOX for the U.S. Space Force, with launch roughly 24 hours after notification, and is contracted for the DoW's MACH-TB hypersonic test bed. Eclipse is a reusable, larger vehicle in final development with Northrop Grumman, expected to carry 16,000 kilograms to Low Earth Orbit and to reach MEO, GEO, HEO and trans-lunar injection. Spacecraft Solutions include the Blue Ghost lunar lander and the Elytra high-thrust orbital spacecraft, which share flight software, thrusters, batteries, avionics and composite structures. Blue Ghost Mission 1 carried 10 NASA payloads under a contract valued at $102.1 million. Elytra missions include data relay for Blue Ghost Mission 2, an on-orbit mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, technology missions for the Space Development Agency, and a space maneuver vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit. On October 31, 2025, Firefly acquired SciTec, which adds AI-enabled defense software and big data processing for missile warning and defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space domain awareness, and autonomous command and control. It also added about 470 employees.

Customers are national security agencies, civil government and commercial satellite operators. Named customers and programs include the U.S. Space Force, NASA, the Department of War, the Defense Innovation Unit, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Space Development Agency and defense companies seeking hypersonic testing. SciTec's work supports national security programs including Golden Dome. The company cites growing demand, noting a McKinsey projection of a $1.8 trillion global space economy by 2035, nearly 2,800 satellites launched in 2024 per BryceTech, and an 82% increase in the DoW's average proposed space budget for 2024-2029 over 2018-2023 averages.

Operations are vertically integrated, with design, manufacturing, assembly and testing co-located. The corporate headquarters, the Hive and the Rocket Ranch are all located just north of Austin, Texas. The Hive houses spacecraft, software and avionics teams, ISO-8 cleanrooms and a mission control center. The 200-acre Rocket Ranch has about 200,000 square feet of production capacity, six test stands and robotic automation. SciTec added data centers, simulation labs, mission operations centers and classified infrastructure at six locations near key customers. Alpha launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Sites are under construction at Wallops Island, Virginia, and Esrange Space Center in Sweden, and the company plans to use expanded capacity at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Its in-house engines include Reaver, Lightning, Spectre and Miranda.