Firefly Aerospace
FLYFirefly Aerospace is an American launch and space systems company headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, developing the Alpha small launch vehicle and the Blue Ghost lunar lander.
- Founded
- 2017
- Headquarters
- Cedar Park, United States
- Stage
- Public
- Ownership
- Listed
- Market cap
- $3.54B-20.4% 30d
- Employees
- 1,409as of 2025
- Last round
- Undisclosed round · $22.0M2026-06
- Investors
- 2
Quick Facts
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is an American launch and space systems company headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, developing the Alpha small launch vehicle and the Blue Ghost lunar lander. Founded in 2017 by Tom Markusic after acquiring assets from the original Firefly Space Systems bankruptcy, the company has made rapid progress across both launch and lunar surface delivery. Alpha achieved orbital success in October 2022 after a failed first attempt and has since flown multiple successful missions.
Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander achieved a historic milestone on March 2, 2025, when it became the first commercially contracted lunar lander to successfully touch down on the Moon and complete a full NASA science mission — delivering ten NASA payloads to Mare Crisium and operating on the lunar surface for a full lunar day (approximately two Earth weeks). The mission represented a major win for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Firefly is majority-owned by AE Industrial Partners and has also developed the Elytra orbital transfer vehicle for in-space transportation services.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Launch vehicle | Small-lift rocket (~1-tonne to LEO); after an April 2025 booster failure and a September 2025 ground-test explosion, Firefly redesigned the vehicle as Alpha Block 2, pushing the next two launches to Q4 2026. |
| Blue Ghost lunar lander | Lunar lander | Nova-C-class competitor; Blue Ghost Mission 1 became the first fully successful commercial lunar landing on 2 March 2025, operating 14 days on the surface. Blue Ghost Mission 2 (far side of the Moon) and an accelerated sixth CLPS mission (targeted 2028, $144M NASA award announced 30 June 2026) are in development. |
| Elytra | Orbital transfer vehicle | In-space servicing/transfer spacecraft; an Elytra Dark vehicle will carry Blue Ghost Mission 2 and ESA's Lunar Pathfinder to lunar orbit, and Firefly was awarded a Defense Innovation Unit contract (announced 13 Aug 2026) to design an Elytra-based deorbit system. |
| Eclipse | Launch vehicle (in development) | Medium-lift rocket developed jointly with Northrop Grumman, sharing a first stage with Northrop's Antares 330; targeted to debut in 2027, with Miranda engines completing over 150 hot-fire tests as of August 2026. |
| SciTec software and data analytics | National security software | National-security data-processing and software business acquired for approximately $855 million, with the deal closing 5 November 2025 and adding roughly 470 employees. |
Timeline
- 2024 Firefly's board removes CEO Bill Weber on 17 July following an internal investigation; board member Peter Schumacher becomes interim CEO. [source]
- 2024 Firefly names Jason Kim, former CEO of Millennium Space Systems, as its new CEO on 29 August, effective 1 October. [source]
- 2025 Blue Ghost Mission 1 becomes the first commercially built spacecraft to achieve a fully successful Moon landing, touching down 2 March at Mare Crisium and operating for a full lunar day. [source]
- 2025 Firefly completes its IPO on Nasdaq (ticker FLY), one of several milestones cited in a transformative year that saw full-year revenue rise 163% to $159.9 million. [source]
- 2025 Firefly closes its roughly $855 million acquisition of national-security software firm SciTec on 5 November, adding hardware-plus-software capability for defense and civil customers. [source]
- 2026 Firefly reports full-year 2025 revenue of $159.9 million (up 163% year-over-year) and guides to $420-450 million in 2026 revenue, in results announced 19 March. [source]
- 2026 NASA awards Firefly a $144 million CLPS task order (announced 30 June) for an accelerated lunar delivery mission to be built and flown in about half the time of Blue Ghost Mission 1, targeting 2028. [source]
- 2026 Firefly pushes the redesigned Alpha Block 2 rocket's debut to the fourth quarter of 2026, following an April 2025 in-flight booster failure and a September 2025 ground-test explosion. [source]
Bill Weber (CEO)
Funding history
8 events · $589M raised| Date | Round | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-23 | Undisclosed round | $22.0M | —Form D filed 2026-07-08 by Firefly Aerospace Inc.: $22.0M sold of a $22.0M offering (first sale 2026-06-23). | sec.gov |
| 2025-08-07 | IPO | Undisclosed | —IPO on Nasdaq at $45/share; closed first day at $60.35 giving ~$8.5B valuation | knobbe.com |
| 2024-11-01 | Series D | $175M | —Oversubscribed Series D at $2B+ valuation ahead of IPO | fireflyspace.com |
| 2023-07-17 | Undisclosed round | $12.3M | —Form D filed 2024-03-01 by Firefly Aerospace Inc.: $12.3M sold of a $12.3M offering (first sale 2023-07-17). | sec.gov |
| 2023-02-02 | Undisclosed round | $179.3M | —Form D amendment filed 2024-03-01 by Firefly Aerospace Inc.: $179.3M sold of a $179.3M offering (first sale 2023-02-02). | sec.gov |
| 2023-02-02 | Undisclosed round | $30.2M | —Form D filed 2023-02-16 by Firefly Aerospace Inc.: $30.2M sold of a $300.0M offering (first sale 2023-02-02). | sec.gov |
| 2022-05-04 | Series B | $75M | AE Industrial PartnersDCVCSeries B funding for Alpha rocket program | fireflyspace.com |
| 2021-04-16 | Undisclosed round | $75.0M | —Form D filed 2021-05-11 by Firefly Aerospace Inc.: $75.0M sold of a $75.0M offering (first sale 2021-04-16). | sec.gov |
Investors
From the sourced rounds above. Investors with two or more deals in the directory link to a portfolio page.
Team
- Jason KimCEO · source
Signals
- Market cap, 90 days
- -33.7%
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-09
Categories & Capabilities
Industry Categories
Vehicle Types
Propulsion Systems
Stock Performance
FLY · Daily close data
Funding
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Frequently asked about Firefly Aerospace
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Firefly Aerospace founded?
- Firefly Aerospace was founded in 2017 in United States.
- Where is Firefly Aerospace headquartered?
- Firefly Aerospace is headquartered in Cedar Park, United States.
- What does Firefly Aerospace do?
- Firefly Aerospace is an American launch and space systems company headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, developing the Alpha small launch vehicle and the Blue Ghost lunar lander. Founded in 2017 by Tom Markusic after acquiring assets from the original Firefly Space Systems bankruptcy, the company has made rapid progress …
- Is Firefly Aerospace publicly traded?
- Yes. Firefly Aerospace trades under the ticker FLY on NasdaqGM.
- What sector does Firefly Aerospace operate in?
- Firefly Aerospace works in launch services, Spacecraft and Launch vehicles, plus 3 other space-industry sectors.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (fireflyspace.com)
- Market data via Yahoo Finance (FLY) · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Company LinkedIn page
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC 10-K · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Merged duplicate entry firefly-blue-ghost · retrieved 2026-09-05
- GLEIF LEI record · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Via Satellite: Firefly Aerospace CEO Bill Weber leaves the company (18 Jul 2024) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Firefly Aerospace: Firefly Aerospace Names Jason Kim as New Chief Executive Officer (29 Aug 2024) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- GlobeNewswire: Firefly Aerospace Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results (19 Mar 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Firefly Aerospace: Firefly Aerospace Closes Acquisition of SciTec National Security Technology Company (5 Nov 2025) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Firefly Aerospace: Firefly Aerospace Awarded $144 Million NASA CLPS Contract (30 Jun 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Spaceflight Now: Firefly Aerospace pushes debut of Alpha Block 2 rocket to Q4 2026 (11 Aug 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Funding: IPO on Nasdaq at $45/share; closed first day at $60.35 giving ~$8.5B valuation (2025-08-07) · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Funding: Oversubscribed Series D at $2B+ valuation ahead of IPO (2024-11-01) · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Funding: Series B funding for Alpha rocket program (2022-05-04) · retrieved 2026-09-04
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Firefly Aerospace is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.