Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket lifts off March 11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
WASHINGTON — Firefly Aerospace says it is seeing strong interest in its launch vehicles and is ramping up production, but those efforts have yet to translate into an increased launch rate.
Firefly executives said in an Aug. 11 earnings call that production of its Alpha launch vehicle is at an “all-time high” as development continues of its larger Eclipse vehicle to meet what they said is strong commercial and government interest in space access.
“I can’t stress enough that the demand for launch capacity is amplified right now. We’ve never seen launch capacity so constrained,” Jason Kim, chief executive of Firefly, said during the call. “That not only helps the demand for Alpha, but also for Eclipse.”
He said the company is working to increase production of Alpha, its small launch vehicle capable of placing up to one ton into low Earth orbit. “We have so much hardware on the floor. The production is at an all-time high, so that gives us really, really high confidence that we’re going to continue to pump out Alphas at rate.”
