Aerospace Company Lands National Security Contract with Elytra Spacecraft

Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense for a responsive on-orbit mission utilizing its Elytra spacecraft. As part of this project, Elytra will host government payloads and perform tasks such as space domain awareness operations in low Earth orbit. The award follows initial trade studies completed in 2024 and is expected to launch as early as 2027. Firefly’s CEO Jason Kim stated that the mission will demonstrate the company’s ability to perform responsive on-orbit tasks with its highly maneuverable Elytra orbital vehicle.