Manufacturer | Firefly Aerospace |
---|---|
Designer | Firefly Aerospace |
Country of origin | United States |
Operator | Firefly Aerospace |
Applications | Lunar payload delivery and support |
Specifications | |
Spacecraft type | Lunar lander |
Payload capacity | 150 kg [1] |
Power | 650W |
Production | |
Status | Testing |
On order | 2 |
Built | 1 |
Launched | 0 |
Operational | 0 |
Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost, or simply Blue Ghost, is a class of lunar landers designed by Firefly Aerospace to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. The first Blue Ghost mission is planned to launch in 2024. [2]
In 2017, Space Policy Directive 1 signaled the intention of returning NASA astronauts to the Moon. In 2018, NASA solicited bids from nine companies, including Firefly Aerospace, for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. CLPS is part of the NASA Artemis program; one of the long-term goals of Artemis is establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon. [3]
In 2021, Firefly Aerospace received a NASA contract that was valued at US$93 million to conduct lunar landings for NASA. [4]
Power on board the Blue Ghost lander is provided via solar panels that have multiple deployment options. The solar array provides a maximum of 650 W. The lander is communications enabled and features multiple layers of insulation, heating system and four landing legs. The company touts the landers fully in house end to end manufacturing and testing process as a differentiator among the CLPS Lunar Landers. [5]
On February 4, 2021, NASA awarded Firefly a contract worth US$93.3 million to deliver a suite of ten science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon in 2023. The award is part of the CLPS initiative, in which NASA is securing the service of commercial partners to quickly land science and technology payloads on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program.
Firefly Aerospace is the prime contractor responsible for end-to-end delivery services, including payload integration, launch from Earth, landing on the Moon, and mission operations. Subcontractors include SolAero By Rocket Lab, providing the solar panels, and ASI by Rocket Lab, providing the lander flight software, ground software, GN&C software, trajectory design, orbit determination, and avionics/flight software testbed integration. This was the sixth award for lunar surface delivery under the CLPS initiative, and the first delivery awarded to Firefly Aerospace. Firefly's Cedar Park facility will serve as the company's mission operations center for the 2023 delivery and the location of payload integration, with Rocket Lab serving as the backup mission operations center.
The mission is planned to land at Mare Crisium, a 500 km (310 mi) wide basin visible from Earth. Instruments will gather data to provide insight into the Moon's regolith – loose, fragmented rock and soil – properties, geophysical characteristics, and the interaction of solar wind and Earth's magnetic field, [6] helping to prepare for human missions to the lunar surface. On May 20, 2021, Firefly selected SpaceX's Falcon 9 as the launch vehicle for the first mission, as its own Alpha rocket does not have the performance or payload volume needed to launch Blue Ghost. [7] Firefly's future Beta launch vehicle is expected to support future Blue Ghost missions. [8]
On April 26, 2022, Firefly announced the completion of the Integration Readiness Review (IRR) for the first Blue Ghost lander, M1, with the launch now expected to occur in 2024. [9] In November 2023 Firefly provided a more precise time window for the mission, occurring between the third and the fourth quarters of 2024. In May 2024, the first engines for Blue Ghost were completed. [10] In June 2024, the company announced the engines were integrated and the lander would soon be scheduled for launch. [11]
The payloads, collectively expected to total 94 kg (207 lb) in mass, include: [6]
The second Blue Ghost lander is scheduled for launch in 2026. [12]
Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P., commonly referred to as Blue Origin is an American aerospace manufacturer, government contractor, launch service provider, and space technologies company headquartered in Kent, Washington, United States. The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Vulcan rocket and manufactures their own rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and heavy-lift launch vehicles. The company is the second provider of lunar lander services for NASA's Artemis program and was awarded a $3.4 billion contract. The four rocket engines the company has in production are the BE-3U, BE-3PM, BE-4 and the BE-7.
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Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Cedar Park, Texas, that develops launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The company completed its $75 million Series A investment round in May 2021, which was led by DADA Holdings. The current company was formed when the assets of the former company Firefly Space Systems were acquired by EOS Launcher in March 2017, which was then renamed Firefly Aerospace. Firefly's stated purpose is to increase access to space, similar to other private spaceflight companies.
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