Firefly Aerospace chosen as vendor for Space Development Agency HALO program

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 27 October 2024 20:39

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 27, 2024

Firefly Aerospace, a space transportation provider, has been selected as a vendor for the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Development Agency (SDA) Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO (HALO) program. This selection makes Firefly eligible to support end-to-end demonstration missions for SDA's military satellites, utilizing Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicles. "Firefly is honored to supp

Firefly Aerospace chosen as vendor for Space Development Agency HALO program
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 27, 2024

Firefly Aerospace, a space transportation provider, has been selected as a vendor for the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Development Agency (SDA) Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO (HALO) program. This selection makes Firefly eligible to support end-to-end demonstration missions for SDA's military satellites, utilizing Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicles.

"Firefly is honored to support the Space Development Agency's growing military satellite constellation," said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. "We're seeing an increasing demand for advanced in-space capabilities, including both prototype and feasibility demonstrations that support critical joint warfighter terrestrial missions with rapid and affordable commercial services. Firefly is ready to meet that demand with our robust space vehicles that utilize common components across our product lines to provide technical and schedule confidence for a diverse set of customers."

The SDA's HALO program provides a flexible and fast contracting mechanism to support Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T2DES) missions and other satellite demonstrations for SDA's low-Earth orbit military satellite constellation. These missions, including launch, on-orbit transport, and tracking services, are delivered within 18 months of each contract award, helping to further SDA's national security objectives.

"SDA is proud to welcome 19 vendors into the first-ever HALO pool," said SDA Director Derek Tournear. "This creative award solution enables SDA to quickly compete, build, and fly demonstration missions to burn down risk for the future of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. We also hope, through the HALO pool, to build a broader base of vendors that can compete for work on operational layers of future tranches."

As a vendor for HALO missions, Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicle can be launched aboard the company's small-lift Alpha rocket, the upcoming Medium Launch Vehicle, or as part of a rideshare with a third-party launcher. The Elytra series provides various on-orbit services, such as last-mile satellite delivery, payload hosting, edge computing, optical communications, and de-orbiting services to meet the critical needs of its customers.

Firefly's first Elytra mission is set to launch aboard Alpha in the coming months, showcasing the company's capability to rapidly launch, maneuver, and deploy satellites on-demand.