U.S. Space Force awarded Firefly aerospace alpha a $17.6 million contract for a 2023 mission to demonstrate rapid-response space launch; firefly reached orbit on 1st October 2022. The mission for the next contract is to perform a rapid response to the low Earth orbit of the earth. The contract is for the Tactically Responsive Space TacRS-3 mission, where Firefly will be given just 24 hours’ notice to launch a small Millennium Space satellite to low Earth orbit.
The business for firefly is promoting the Alpha launch vehicle as an alternative to other tiny launcher rivals that can only lift a small portion of that, with a deployment capacity of 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit. The delivery of the space and ground systems will be handled by Millennium, while launch services will be handled by Firefly. The contract also covers the ground segment, on-orbit operations, space vehicle integration, sensor payload, and spacecraft bus.
Space Force is developing a competitive and collaborative environment for the launch and satellite manufacturing companies so that National Security missions can be carried out in a way where there is no compromise in technology and is cost-effective. This type of initiative has helped companies like Firefly and Northrop Grumman to collaborate and build medium launch vehicles that will suffice different mission requirements set by the space force for its national security mission.
To understand more about responsive space, it is nothing but rapid access to commercial launch vehicles that can be quickly outfitted with payloads and launched during a conflict or a crisis to replace a damaged satellite or expand existing constellations. With the increase in the number of instruments in space and cybersecurity concerns for these systems, it is very necessary to have a responsive unit for smoother functioning of different sectors dependent on space systems.