NASA Partners with Firefly Aerospace to Launch Environmental Satellite on Alpha Rocket

Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a NASA contract to launch NOAA’s QuickSounder environmental satellite on its Alpha rocket in 2026. The mission is part of NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program, which aims to improve weather forecasting and climate models. Firefly’s Alpha rocket will provide fast, flexible, and direct launch services for the NEON program. According to Firefly CEO Jason Kim, the company is honored to support this critical pathfinder mission and believes its flight-proven rocket is well-suited to meet the needs of the NEON program.