Upcoming Mission
Elytra Mission 3
Mission Details
Mission Summary
Firefly was awarded a contract from the U.S. DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to perform another responsive on-orbit mission with its Elytra orbital vehicle. During the mission, Elytra will serve as a space maneuver vehicle to perform a series of responsive on-orbit tasks, including space domain awareness operations in LEO. This award supports DIU’s Sinequone Project as the first step to enable future access and operations in xGEO on a responsive timeline. The mission will follow Firefly’s first responsive Elytra mission in 2025 and Firefly’s second Elytra mission that will support Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the Moon in 2026.
Payloads
Elytra will host a suite of U.S. government payloads, including optical visible and infrared cameras, a responsive navigation unit, and a universal electrical bus with a payload interface module.
Vehicle
Firefly’s Elytra Dawn configuration will utilize common components from the company’s launch vehicles and lunar landers, including the avionics, composite structures, and propulsion systems, to enable on-demand mobility, plane changes, and maneuvers with high delta-V capabilities and reliability. Elytra’s main engine, called Spectre, was recently flight-proven on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander as the reaction control system thrusters that successfully performed Firefly’s final descent on the Moon on March 2.
Book a Ride
Get in touch to learn more about booking a dedicated or rideshare Elytra mission.
