US-based Aerojet Rocketdyne and Firefly Aerospace have agreed to combine their capabilities to provide flexible, sustainable and cost-competitive space-access solutions.
The two companies aim to serve the growing market by providing dedicated small and medium launch capabilities to low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and the Moon.
The collaboration will use Firefly’s new family of launch vehicles and in-space services (
www.firefly.com) — along with Aerojet Rocketdyne’s experience in propulsion development, additive manufacturing and mission assurance — for commercial, national security and exploration missions.
Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president Eileen Drake (
www.rocket.com) said: “Our strategic alignment with Firefly will offer very competitive solutions to address emerging launch- market demands.
“We will take advantage of Firefly’s mature launch-vehicle designs, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s advanced propulsion systems and the world-class technological capabilities of both companies.”
The first flight of Firefly’s small-satellite rocket, Alpha, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is contributing to the first flight of Alpha by providing its additive-manufacturing expertise for key Reaver first-stage engine components.
They will jointly work towards an increase in the Alpha SSO payload to greater than 800kg.