Firefly Wins $176.7 M NASA Lunar Contract

Cedar Park‑based Firefly Aerospace has won a US$176.7 million task order under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to deliver a suite of science payloads to the Moon’s south pole. The contract covers two rovers and three instruments that will evaluate lunar resources like hydrogen, water ice and minerals while monitoring radiation and temperature conditions that could affect future missions. The mission—dubbed Blue Ghost Mission 4—is planned for 2029. Firefly will use its Elytra Dark orbital vehicle to ferry the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit. Once deployed, the lander will descend to the surface and operate for over twelve days, providing power and communications for the MoonRanger rover, a Canadian Space Agency rover and other instruments. Elytra is designed to remain in lunar orbit for more than five years as a communications relay and later support Firefly’s Ocula lunar imaging service. The contract win comes as the company prepares for a U.S. initial public offering. Firefly plans to sell about 16.2 million shares priced between US$35 and US$39, which could raise roughly US$631.8 million and value the company at around US$5.5 billion. Its first Blue Ghost mission successfully delivered NASA payloads to the Moon in March, bolstering investor confidence ahead of its planned listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “FLY.”