Kudos to Firefly Aerospace on a November to Remember!
Miranda’s Successful Hot Fire Test
Firefly Aerospace, one of the fastest growing space transportation companies in the world, has successfully conducted the first hot fire test for its new Miranda engine, intended for use in Northrop Grumman’s Antares 330 spacecraft. The hot fire test, which involved the turbopump-fed engine, validated Miranda’s startup sequence, transient conditions, and tap-off engine architecture on a larger scale. The next step for Miranda is a full-duration, 206-second hot fire. Upon qualification, seven Miranda engines, each capable of producing 230,000 pound-force, will propel the first stage of Antares 330 launch.
In conjunction with the Miranda engines, Firefly is actively involved in designing, manufacturing, and testing the first stage structures for Antares 330, as well as structures and fluid systems for both MLV (Medium Launch Vehicle) stages. “The incredible progress on our Miranda engines – designed, built, and tested in-house in just over a year – is another example of Firefly setting a new standard in the industry,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace.
Scott Lehr, Vice President and General Manager of Launch and Missile Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman, emphasized the huge impact this partnership will have on the future of space launches. Firefly’s ability to quickly build new rocket engines changes how they think about bringing a new launch vehicle to market. Antares 330, with a scheduled first flight in mid-2025, is capable of launching over 22,000 lbs of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station.
$300 Million in New Funding
Firefly has also achieved significant financial milestones, with a recent round of financing closing at a valuation of $1.5 billion. Led by existing investors, including AE Industrial Partners, Firefly has secured approximately $300 million in funding. Bill attributed the success in raising funds to the focus on production and mission execution—citing the heightened interest following the VICTUS NOX mission's groundbreaking launch by the U.S. Space Force.
In addition to financial successes, Firefly has been awarded contracts for multiple Alpha missions, signed agreements with Lockheed Martin and L3Harris, and made significant progress with its on-orbit vehicle, Elytra.
Far Side of the Moon
Firefly recently announced a new agreement with Fleet Space Technologies, an Australian space exploration company, to deliver and operate Fleet’s Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration, and Research (SPIDER) on the far side of the Moon. This collaboration is part of Firefly’s second lunar mission in 2026, which will also carry payloads from NASA and the European Space Agency. Fleet Space’s SPIDER payload, aligned with the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative and NASA’s Artemis program, will capture seismic data from the lunar surface for up to 14 days with ongoing power and communication support from Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander. Firefly is rapidly advancing its lunar missions, with the preliminary design review for Blue Ghost Mission 2 completed in less than six months after receiving the $112 million NASA CLPS contract.
Epsilon3 x Firefly Aerospace
In response to this momentous month for Firefly, our CEO & Co-Founder, Laura Crabtree, shares, “At Epsilon3, our vision was to support the most innovative, and fastest moving companies in space, and Firefly is certainly one of those companies. Their ability to think outside of the box and iterate quickly has helped them keep up this pace of development and we’re so excited to see what they have in store next!”
Epsilon3 is excited to support Firefly as they continue to establish themselves as a leader in space transportation. The company's focus on responsiveness, reliability and affordability positions it as a key player in both government and commercial space endeavors. Meagan Roth, Sr. Manager of Launch and Test Operations at Firefly, shared, “Epsilon3 is a streamlined tool allowing us to optimize the creation, review and execution of our procedures. Their online platform allows us to develop, iterate and execute at the speed required to be a successful space startup.”
Visit our website to learn how Epsilon3 helps innovative teams—including Firefly and NASA—streamline complex engineering, testing and operations.
