Mission Summary

As Firefly’s first Elytra demonstration, Elytra Mission 1 is a test flight that primarily serves as an opportunity to learn how key Elytra subsystems perform in space. The systems we’re testing on an Elytra demo bus include Firefly’s spacecraft flight software, guidance, navigation and control, and ground system software developed in-house. The mission will also demonstrate the capabilities of Xtenti’s FANTM-RiDE dispenser in support of Xtenti’s follow-on study contract with the NRO. Prior to launch, FANTM-RiDE will support a rapid payload reconfiguration. After launching, FANTM-RiDE will then deploy two sets of CubeSats from the same dispenser that can open and close on-demand.

Payloads

Xtenti’s Flight Agnostic Non-interfering, Tunable Mass Rideshare Dispenser Equipment (FANTM-RiDE) will fly onboard Elytra Mission 1 as Firefly’s primary payload. The FANTM-RiDE dispenser will carry multiple government and educational CubeSats as part of Xtenti’s demonstration for the NRO. The dispenser enables customers to rapidly add, replace, or remove payloads from a manifest before launching without invalidating existing mission load analyses. FANTM-RiDE further protects multiple payloads on-orbit within a container that can open and close on-demand.

*Elytra Mission 1 environmental testing complete with Firefly’s Elytra demo bus and Xtenti’s FANTM-RiDE dispenser