Northrop Grumman pumps $50M into Firefly for medium launch vehicle
“With a 16 metric ton to orbit capability, Eclipse is a sweet spot for programs like NSSL Lane 1 and a natural fit to launch proliferated constellations,” said Firefly CEO Jason Kim.
Rendering of Firefly Aerospace’s and Northrop Grumman’s Eclipse launch vehicle at the Wallops Flight Facility. (Firefly Aerospace)
WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman is investing $50 million into Firefly Aerospace to speed their joint production of the Antares 330 rocket and the newly named Eclipse medium launch vehicle, Firefly announced today.
The two companies see the Eclipse as a contender for the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch Program (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program. Under NSSL Lane 1, initiated in 2023, the Space Force is contracting providers of small-to-medium launch services for its less risky and/or complex missions.
“With a 16 metric ton [17.6 tons] to orbit capability, Eclipse is a sweet spot for programs like NSSL Lane 1 and a natural fit to launch proliferated constellations,” said Jason Kim, Firefly CEO.
Eclipse will be “able to support space station resupply, commercial spacecraft, critical national security missions and scientific payloads for the domestic and international markets,” according to Firefly’s release. It is being designed to carry 16,300 kilograms of cargo to low Earth orbit or 3,200 kilograms to geosynchronous transfer orbit, and will launch from from Wallops Island, Va., “as early as 2026.”
Wendy Williams, Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager for launch and missile defense systems, said that the “partnership with Firefly builds on our capacity to provide crucial spaced-based communication, observation, and exploration for civil and national security customers.”
The two companies first partnered in 2022 to build Antares 330 as a domestically produced successor to Northrop Grumman’s legacy Antares rocket, originally designed for NASA launches, which relied on a Ukrainian first stage and Russian engines.
Eclipse is being built in part upon Firefly’s Alpha small lift vehicle, that has been used by the Space Force for the Victus-series missions under the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program. Firefly also is under contract with the National Reconnaissance Office for Alpha launches.
Eclipse will utilize the same first stage Firefly is developing for Antares 330, powered by seven of the company’s Miranda engines. It also “retains scaled-up versions of Alpha’s propulsion systems and carbon composite structures, allowing the team to rapidly build and test Eclipse with significant production efficiencies and economies of scale,” Firefly’s release explained.
