Alpha | Elytra Mission 1

Status

Elytra Mission 1

Launch Time
NET 1st Quarter, 2025

Rocket

Alpha

Image Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Firefly

Status: Active

Price: $15.0 million

Liftoff Thrust: 801 kN

Payload to LEO: 1,030 kg

Stages: 2

Strap-ons: 0

Rocket Height: 29.48 m

Fairing Diameter: 2.2 m

Fairing Height: 5.0 m

Details

Mission Details

Elytra Mission 1

Elytra Mission 1 will demonstrate the responsive on-orbit capabilities of the Elytra vehicle. In support of Xtenti’s follow-on study contract with the NRO, the mission will demonstrate a rapid payload reconfiguration utilizing Xtenti’s FANTM-RiDE payload dispenser prior to launching on Firefly’s Alpha vehicle. Upon launching on Alpha, Firefly’s Elytra vehicle will utilize the FANTM-RiDE dispenser to first deploy commercial rideshare payloads in Sun-Synchronous Orbit, and then perform an on-orbit maneuver and stand ready to deploy U.S. government payloads on-demand.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit

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Location

SLC-2W, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA

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