Defense and Space
PPRnewswire | August 11, 2023
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, announced the expansion of its on-orbit services with a line of highly mobile and scalable orbital vehicles named Elytra. As the wings of a firefly, Elytra (pronounced ella-truh) offers on-orbit mobility, hosting, delivery, and servicing across cislunar space and beyond. When launched on Firefly's small- and medium-lift launch vehicles, Elytra can service the entire lifecycle of government and commercial missions.
"Elytra further expands Firefly's on-orbit services by opening access to more orbits, extending the life of each mission, and providing deorbiting services to help minimize space debris," said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. "Our robust vehicle line gives us a unique advantage to quickly launch, deploy, and service satellites on-orbit in response to dynamic changes in space."
Formerly known as Firefly's Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra offers three vehicle models – Elytra Dawn, Elytra Dusk, and Elytra Dark – that travel further into space to support larger, more advanced on-orbit missions. Optimized for low Earth orbit (LEO), Elytra Dawn can be rapidly launched to support responsive hosting, rideshare, and delivery missions. Elytra Dusk offers enhanced maneuverability, power, and autonomy to provide responsive on-orbit tasking, such as relocation, space domain awareness, and deorbiting services, from LEO to geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Elytra Dark is ruggedized to serve as persistent orbital infrastructure and support transfers from LEO to lunar orbit and beyond.
"Firefly's Elytra vehicles are scalable and customizable to support each customer's unique on-orbit needs," said Jana Spruce, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. "Utilizing many of the same flight-proven components from Firefly's launch vehicles and landers, Elytra supports rapid mission schedules while providing affordable access across cislunar space and beyond."
Designed, manufactured, and tested in-house, Elytra utilizes flight-proven hardware flown on Firefly's Alpha vehicle and qualified systems common to Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander, including the carbon composite structures, core avionics, and propulsion systems. Elytra also utilizes the on-orbit heritage and learnings from Spaceflight's Sherpa vehicle following Firefly's recent acquisition of the company.
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly is an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and in-space services. As an all-American company headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly's small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide the space industry with a single source for missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond.
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Air Transport
PRnewswire | June 30, 2023
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced it signed a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin to support a technology demonstration mission that will launch aboard Firefly's Alpha vehicle.
"Firefly's flight-proven hardware and rapid launch capabilities are well-aligned with Lockheed Martin's mission needs, and we're proud to serve as one of their launch providers," said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. "We have the infrastructure, technologies, systems, and a dedicated team in place to provide on-demand launch services for both government and commercial customers."
Firefly's Alpha rocket provides affordable and responsive launch services with the capability to lift more than 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit. The vehicle utilizes Firefly's patented tap-off cycle propulsion technology and carbon composite sandwich structures to reduce mass and costs and improve strength and reliability. As a launch provider, Firefly provides an important capability to Lockheed Martin in supporting access to space for its key spacecraft technologies.
"We are working with Firefly because of their innovative performance in offering access to space for small payloads on Firefly Alpha," said Dan Tenney, vice president, strategy and business development, Lockheed Martin Space. "We look forward to collaborating with them, as we focus on creating a resilient launch environment for our upcoming technology demonstration."
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly is an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and in-space services. As an all-American company headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly's small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, Space Utility Vehicles, and Blue Ghost lunar landers provide the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon and beyond.
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Aviation Technology
Globenewswire | July 05, 2023
Draganfly Inc (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an award-winning, industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer, is proud to announce their inclusion in the Canada Day celebrations at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario on, July 1, 2023.
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum has one of the most extensive aviation collections in Canada. Its collection consists of over 130 aircraft and artifacts, focusing on the history of Canadian aviation and its global impact.
“It is an honor for Draganfly to be recognized as a pioneer in the aviation industry and to have our latest technology on display alongside other great Canadian aerospace companies at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum,” said Cameron Chell, President, and CEO of Draganfly.
Visitors to the Canadian Achievements Drone Zone exhibit will see Draganfly's latest cutting-edge drone technology, the Heavy Lift Drone and Commander 3 XL.
Draganfly’s Heavy Lift Drone is a versatile, industrial, multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to lift more and fly further. Capable of automated missions and manual flight operations, Draganfly’s heavy-duty, robust UAV has a payload lift capacity of 67 pounds and up to 55 minutes of flight time.
Draganfly’s Commander 3 XL Drone is a high-endurance, weather-resistant, multirotor UAV designed for easy assembly and rapid deployment. The “Swiss Army Knife” of drones can drop and winch-down systems to transport up to 22lb of payload. It performs extremely well in light rain and snow.
About Draganfly
Draganfly Inc. is the creator of quality, cutting-edge drone solutions, software, and AI systems that revolutionize how organizations can do business and service their stakeholders. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 24 years, Draganfly is an award-winning industry leader serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, security, mapping, and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity, and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money, and lives.
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