Firefly Aerospace Has Begun Testing A Medium-Lift Launch Vehicle
So far Firefly Aerospace has had two orbital test flights of their small lift Alpha rocket. The first was unsuccessful and saw the flight termination system triggered after an electrical issue with one of the main engines. The second and more recent flight was partially successful as it saw all payloads deployed, however multiple were reported to have reentered the atmosphere sooner than planned.
With this in mind, the company is not far away from a third attempt with hopes for a fully successful mission. This comes in addition to work on a medium-lift launch vehicle and a lunar lander. In the last few weeks, we have been receiving updates on all these different projects and upcoming missions. The next launch is for the Space Force carrying a payload that the company wants to place in the correct orbit.
In a short period of time, Firefly Aerospace has made some impressive progress. This being said, they still have a lot of work ahead of them and a few challenging milestones coming up. Here I will go more in-depth into work on a medium-lift launch vehicle, Alpha’s upcoming flights, other updates from the company, and more.
Medium Launch Vehicle
Not long ago progress began ramping up very quickly on a medium-lift launch vehicle. Earlier this month the company tweeted mentioning, “Our first ever composite common dome structure is on the test stand as we undergo development testing for our Medium Launch Vehicle. This configuration allows us to cut out the entire intertank, significantly reducing vehicle weight with fewer parts.” The company also built its first 2 carbon fiber pressure tanks and successfully passed qualification-level testing ahead of the structure CDR.
Firefly describes the MLV as a medium launch vehicle (MLV) that will fill a void in the medium-lift market by providing a 100% US-made solution that’s more responsive to national security, civil, and commercial space needs. With the first flight scheduled for 2025, MLV will be capable of launching 16,000 kg to lower Earth orbit with a 5-meter class payload fairing that can be customized based on customer needs. The vehicle will deliver payloads at a comparable cost per kilogram to existing reusable rockets while enabling direct deliveries to customers’ preferred orbits.
Focusing back on vehicle updates, just a few months ago Firefly completed risk reduction testing for critical Miranda engine components ahead of the first hot fire scheduled this summer. As a larger, scaled-up version of the company’s Reaver engines, Miranda will power the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) Firefly is co-developing with Northrop Grumman. “We are making significant progress in the development of our Miranda engines that started less than a year ago,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “By leveraging our flight-proven engine architecture and our team’s propulsion expertise, we are conducting a hot fire test in just a few months.”
The risk reduction testing was successfully completed for Miranda’s main fuel valve and the throttle valve hot seal design. The hot seal was tested several times during routine Reaver engine hot fires. Due to the commonality of Firefly’s engine designs, the team can conduct robust flight-like testing and validate performance for both Alpha and MLV.
With 230,000 pounds of thrust (lbf), Miranda is building on the Lightning (15,759 lbf) and Reaver (45,000 lbf) with proven engine scalability. Miranda uses the same engine architecture, injector design, and patented tap-off cycle as the Reaver and Lightning engines that power Firefly’s orbital Alpha vehicle. Miranda also incorporates a scaled-up version of Reaver’s turbopump, fluid systems, and valve technology. The company used extensive data from more than 500 Reaver and Lightning engine tests, accounting for more than two hours of run-time, to scale the Miranda engines and improve reliability.
Following Miranda’s first hot fire test this summer, Firefly will start engine qualification this fall. The company’s culture of rapid design, iteration, and agility further enables Firefly to meet MLV’s schedule with a cost-effective, high-performing solution.
MLV will utilize the Firefly-manufactured Antares 330 first stage that’s powered by seven Firefly Miranda engines and a new liquid upper stage incorporating one Miranda derived vacuum engine. The vehicle will utilize technologies from Firefly’s Alpha vehicle, such as all carbon composite structures and tap-off cycle engines, and will evolve into a reusable vehicle. Launching from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, MLV is also designed to be compatible with other launch ranges, including Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), California.
Upcoming Missions
Just two days ago Firefly tweeted saying, “Equipped w/ a cleanroom & the ability to fuel hypergolic spacecraft, this facility will be used to process, integrate and encapsulate the Millennium Space Systems payload in a matter of HOURS for the upcoming @SpaceForceDoD #VICTUSNOX launch – that’s how we do responsive launch!”
In regard to this, relatively recently in October of last year, Firefly was selected by The U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) to provide launch services for SSC’s VICTUS NOX mission. The effort was awarded as the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS-3) Launch Service Task Order under the Orbital Services Program 4 (OSP-4) Contract. The VICTUS NOX mission will demonstrate an end-to-end Tactically Responsive Space capability, including the launch segment, space segment, ground segment, and on-orbit operations. VICTUS NOX will perform a Space Domain Awareness (SDA) mission from Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).
To prepare for the mission, Firefly manufactured and acceptance tested each critical flight component, engine, and vehicle stage to improve reliability before shipping Alpha to the launch site. With the launch vehicle now in Vandenberg, Firefly is also conducting several dry runs, including mating the payload fairing to Alpha on the launch pad – a first for Firefly and a key capability to enable responsive space missions. As of April 12, 2023, the team also completed a full-duration static fire on the first attempt, verifying all Alpha systems and components operate within flight parameters. This helps put in perspective how close this mission really is. Unfortunately, the company says that the launch date is to be announced.
While there isn’t a launch date, the VICTUS NOX mission is officially set by Firefly as the third flight meaning it is next on the schedule. Right after this is another mission but this time with NASA. Firefly was selected by NASA to provide launches services as part of its Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract. These launches can tolerate a higher level of risk than larger missions, and they help demonstrate the capabilities of launch vehicles like Alpha that support a new launch class and provide more access to space for small satellites and spacecraft.
Firefly will launch several CubeSats as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) that provides satellite developers at U.S. educational institutions and nonprofits with low-cost access to space to conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations. So far we haven’t received many updates regarding this mission as the focus has been on the Space Force launch.
In a quote relating to the upcoming mission Firefly CEO said, “We are honored to be chosen by Space Force for this important national security mission. Now more than ever, our country needs the ability for quick response capabilities to combat threats in space. Our Alpha launch vehicle is designed to drive affordable, rapid access to space” he said. With both of these missions approaching, we can expect new updates on the fourth flight and some final testing for the VICTUS NOX mission. While exciting, there is much more that Firefly has been working on.
Firefly has long been working toward a lunar landing with Blue Ghost. Scheduled to happen next year, Firefly’s first Blue Ghost mission will deliver 13 commercial and government payloads to the lunar surface, including 10 NASA-sponsored payloads as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. This mission is intended to help advance lunar research and enable a sustainable presence on the Moon. The Blue Ghost lunar lander will provide data, power, and thermal resources to enable payload operations through transit to the Moon, for an entire lunar day (about 14 Earth days), and well into the freezing lunar night.
Based on updates from the company, by now the 8th payload has arrived meaning only a few more need to be shipped for everything to be in place. To add to this, just months ago Firefly was awarded a $112 million NASA contract to deliver multiple lunar payloads in 2026. As Firefly’s second task order won under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, the company will use its Blue Ghost spacecraft in a two-stage configuration to first place a satellite into lunar orbit and then deliver two research payloads on the far side of the Moon.
Conclusion
Firefly Aerospace is very busy with three different projects all being worked on. In the near future, we can expect more testing on MLV and a launch with the Alpha Rocket. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.