Space Force taps Firefly to launch mysterious Victus Sol ‘responsive space’ mission

Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket, shown here lofting a payload for Lockheed Martin in December 2023 from Vandenberg SFB, Calif., was chosen to provide launch of the Space Force’s upcoming Victus Sol mission. (Photo: Firefly Aerospace)

WASHINGTON — Although most details of the newest mission under the Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program remain shrouded in secrecy, the service has announced a $21.81 million award to Firefly Aerospace to launch the effort, dubbed Victus Sol.

Victus Sol, the third in the TacRS series, will build upon the past two demonstrations of rapidly satellite launch, and be the first to put an operational system on orbit, according to the Space Force.

The mission “is moving beyond TacRS demonstrations and will be available for operations,” a spokesperson for Space Safari, the Space Systems Command shop managing the program, told Breaking Defense in a Feb. 14 email.

However, the spokesperson said the Victus Sol launch date, payload type, capability requirements and mission objective “will not be disclosed at this time in accordance with mission requirements.” Nor would the spokesperson reveal when a provider for the space vehicle and/or payload would be chosen.

The Space Force in its fiscal 2025 budget request [PDF] asked for $30 million in research and development funds for the TacRS program, explaining that “each VICTUS mission furthers the capability to launch within 24 hours of notice, match the orbital plane of a previously unknown object, and conduct rendezvous and proximity operations for inspection and characterization on an operationally relevant timeline.”

The budget documents further note that the goal of the Victus Sol plan for FY25 is to “enable launch in the first half of FY 2026.”

The Space Safari spokesperson said that Firefly’s contract is sole source and is being paid for using FY24 and FY25 funds. The service’s press release explained that the award was made under the Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract mechanism that “provides dedicated and primary launch services to the DoD and other Government agencies.”

Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, noted in a Feb. 14 press release that this will be the third TacRS mission to be launched by the company.

“As our country’s deterrence and responsive space needs grow exponentially, Firefly has ramped up our Alpha production line to meet that demand and provide flexibility to support the Space Force’s urgent needs that keep us ahead of the game,” he said.

The stated goal of the TacRS series has been for the Space Force to be able to turn around a satellite launch within a 24-hour window. At the same time, all of the TacRS missions have been designed to carry maneuverable satellites that can get up close and personal with another satellite — a capability that could allow inspection, repair or even attack of the target satellite.

The first TacRS mission, Victus Nox launched in September 2023 and was praised by senior Space Force officials as a game-changer for the service in future great power competition. Under that demonstration, Firefly launched a maneuverable space vehicle developed by Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems.

In April 2024, the Space force announced awards to two vendors for the follow-on Victus Haze mission. Rocket Lab National Security was awarded a $32 million contract through the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), while True Anomaly was awarded $30 million through the Space Force’s SpaceWERX innovation hub.

“VICTUS HAZE is progressing toward successfully achieving all cost, schedule, and performance goals,” the Space Safari spokesperson said.

According to the FY25 budget documents, the two Victus Haze satellites should be “ready for call-up in the second quarter of FY 2025.”

Last October [PDF], Space Systems Command announced that it was developing two more missions for FY26, called Victus Surgo and Victus Salo, in partnership with DIU to “demonstrate on-orbit prepositioned capabilities as response options to meet urgent needs of combatant commands.” Impulse Space was awarded a $34.5 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract for two space vehicles “that will demonstrate how highly maneuverable on-orbit assets can complement responsive launch approaches to further reduce response times and meet urgent needs,” the announcement added.

Senior officials at US Space Command (SPACECOM) have expressed the need for on-orbit capabilities for what is broadly known as space mobility and logistics — such as highly mobile satellites that could be refueled and/or repaired by other space vehicles or even on-orbit “gas stations” to allow “dynamic space operations.” SPACECOM, US Indo-Pacific Command and US Transportation Command officials also have touted the potential for cargo to be placed on-orbit that then could be dropped into theaters as needed.

And while as recently as 2023 Space Force acquisition leaders were equally enthusiastic about such capabilities, the service over the past year or so has seemed less interested. For example, as Breaking Defense was the first to report, the Space Force zeroed out funds for those activities in its FY26 budget request after having asked for $20 million in FY25.