Aerospace firefly It successfully launched a US Space Force satellite last night with just 24 hours’ notice, in a record display of rapid launch capabilities for national security missions.
The Space Force gave Firefly notice of launch on September 13, at which point the 24-hour clock began ticking. During that window, Firefly was able to complete final launch preparations, update the flight software trajectory, package the payload built by Millennium Space Systems and attach it to the Firefly Alpha rocket.
The company launched the Victus Nox mission in the first available window, with Alpha leaving the platform just 27 hours after receiving notice of the launch.
“Today was an incredible success for the Space Force, the Firefly team and our nation after completing this complex space mission,” Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said in a statement. “Our combined commercial and government team executed the mission with record speed, agility and flexibility, adding a critical capability to meet our national security needs.”
The mission sets a new record among commercial space companies for a responsive space launch, by a very large margin – the previous record was set in June 2021 by Northrop Grumman in 21 days. Notably, this is only the third mission in Firefly’s nine-year history.
Millennium Space Systems, a subsidiary of Boeing, also succeeded in its own challenge: As part of the mission, it had 60 hours to transport the spacecraft 165 miles from El Segundo, California, to Vandenberg Space Force Base and integrate it with Alpha’s payload adapter . . They completed this work in 58 hours.
“The success of Victus Nox represents a cultural shift in our nation’s ability to deter adversary aggression and, when needed, respond with the operational agility necessary to provide decisive capabilities to our warfighters,” Space Systems Command Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Goettlin said. “This exercise is part of a tactically responsive space demonstration that demonstrates that the U.S. Space Force can integrate capabilities quickly and will respond to aggression when called upon to do so on tactically relevant timelines.”
Space Systems Command, part of the Space Force, is charged with developing and procuring space technologies for national security. The Space Force has had a continuing interest in purchasing rapid launch capabilities from private industry; For this mission, Firefly received $17.6 million.