{"id":8786,"date":"2023-03-17T21:38:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T13:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/firefly-awarded-nasa-contract-worth-112-million-to-deliver-multiple-lunar-payloads\/"},"modified":"2023-03-17T21:38:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T13:38:37","slug":"firefly-awarded-nasa-contract-worth-112-million-to-deliver-multiple-lunar-payloads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/firefly-awarded-nasa-contract-worth-112-million-to-deliver-multiple-lunar-payloads\/","title":{"rendered":"Firefly Awarded NASA Contract Worth $112 Million to Deliver Multiple Lunar Payloads"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Firefly<\/p>\n

Firefly was awarded a $112 million NASA contract payload Delivery to Lunar Orbit and the Far Side of the Moon in 2026. Firefly\u2019s second lunar mission task order won under NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload (CLPS) initiative utilizes its Blue Ghost spacecraft and offers additional customer opportunities for payload delivery, orbital services, and sample return<\/p>\n

\u201cOur second lunar mission is something we\u2019re celebrating as a Firefly team, as a NASA commercial provider, and most importantly, as an all-American company committed to making space exploration an achievable dream for everyone,\u201d said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. \u201cThis mission will debut Firefly\u2019s unique two-stage Blue Ghost spacecraft, offering NASA and other customers multiple deployment options as we collectively build the infrastructure for ongoing lunar operations and planetary exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NASA-provided payloads Firefly is delivering will advance lunar research and infrastructure in conjunction with NASA\u2019s Moon-to-Mars roadmap. Before landing on the Moon, the company\u2019s Blue Ghost transfer vehicle will deploy the European Space Agency\u2019s Lunar Pathfinder satellite into lunar orbit to provide communications for future spacecraft, robots, and human explorers. After touching down on the far side of the Moon, the Blue Ghost lunar lander will deliver and operate NASA\u2019s S-Band User Terminal, ensuring uninterrupted communications for lunar exploration, and a research-focused payload that measures radio emissions to provide insight into the origins of the universe.<\/p>\n

Along with the NASA payloads, Firefly\u2019s mission is offering payload delivery and orbital services for additional government and commercial customers. The robust and versatile design of the company\u2019s Blue Ghost transfer vehicle and its propellant reserve will enable a variety of mission opportunities, including lunar sample return to Earth, further exploration to nearby planets like Mars and Venus, and long-duration orbital services, such as communications and surveying.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirefly\u2019s ability to provide additional capabilities to multiple customers on the same mission lowers costs, further expands space exploration, and provides a win-win for everyone involved,\u201d said Jana Spruce, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. \u201cWe welcome additional partners to join us on this historic mission as our society embarks on a new era of commercial development in cislunar space and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firefly\u2019s first mission, Blue Ghost Mission 1, is on track for launch in 2024 and will deliver 10 NASA-sponsored payloads and two commercial payloads to Mare Crisium, a low-lying basin on the Moon\u2019s near side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firefly was awarded a $112 million NASA contract payload Delivery to Lunar Orbit and the Far Side of the Moon in 2026. Firefly\u2019s second lunar mission task order won under NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload (CLPS) initiative utilizes its Blue Ghost spacecraft and offers additional customer opportunities for payload delivery, orbital services, and sample return \u201cOur […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25,20],"class_list":["post-8786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-launch","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}