Firefly Aerospace efficiently launched a satellite tv for pc for the U.S. Area Pressure final evening with simply 24 hours’ discover, in a record-setting demonstration of fast launch capabilities for nationwide safety missions.
The Area Pressure gave Firefly discover to launch on September 13, at which level the 24-hour clock began ticking. Inside that window, Firefly managed to finish last launch preparations, replace the flight software program trajectory, encapsulate the Millennium Area Methods-made payload and mate it to the Firefly Alpha rocket.
The corporate launched the Victus Nox mission on the first out there window, with Alpha leaving the pad simply 27 hours after the launch discover was acquired.
“As we speak was an unbelievable success for the Area Pressure, the Firefly crew, and our nation after nailing this complicated responsive house mission,” Invoice Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, mentioned in a press release. “Our mixed industrial and authorities crew executed the mission with document velocity, agility, and adaptability, including a crucial functionality to handle nationwide safety wants.”
The mission units a brand new document amongst industrial house firms for a responsive house launch, by fairly a big margin — the earlier document was set in June 2021 by Northrop Grumman at 21 days. Notably, that is solely the third mission in Firefly’s nine-year historical past.
Millennium Area Methods, a Boeing-subsidiary, was additionally profitable in their very own problem: As a part of the mission, they’d 60 hours to move the spacecraft 165 miles from El Segundo, California to Vandenberg Area Pressure Base and combine it with Alpha’s payload adaptor. They accomplished this work in 58 hours.
“The success of Victus Nox marks a tradition shift in our nation’s potential to discourage adversary aggression and, when required, reply with the operational velocity essential to ship decisive capabilities to our warfighters,” Area Methods Command commander Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein mentioned. “This train is a part of an end-to-end Tactically Responsive Area demonstration which proves the USA Area Pressure can quickly combine capabilities and can reply to aggression when known as to take action on tactically related timelines.”
Area Methods Command, a part of the Area Pressure, is tasked with creating and procuring house applied sciences for nationwide safety. The Area Pressure has had a sustained curiosity in shopping for fast launch capabilities from personal business; for this mission, Firefly was awarded $17.6 million.
