Starting a small launch vehicle operation remains a risky business. US start-up small launch vehicle firm, Firefly, which laid off staff last year after a withdrawal of a major investor, is now having its assets sold off. While there were doubts about its first stage plug cluster aerospike engine concept, there was genuine sadness within the industry at Firefly’s predicament and it received several belated offers for launch orders when the firm got into financial difficulty. However, these were not enough and Firefly is being wound up.
The proposed Firefly Alpha rocket design made use of an innovative multi nozzle plug aerospike first stage engine arrangement. Courtesy: Firefly
Meantime, its close US/New Zealand competitor Rocket Lab Ltd looked to be in much healthier state as it announced that it was to receive a further US$75 million in financing for its Electron launch vehicle which now totals US$148 million. The Data Collective and Promus Ventures et al now joined past investors Khosia Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, K1W and Lockheed Martin as investors in the firm.
Finally, while its suborbital space tourism operation has been much delayed, Virgin Galactic has announced that its orbital launch operation will now be called Virgin Orbit. Virgin Orbit will operate from a manufacturing facility in Long Beach, California, using Virgin Galactic’s 747-400 aircraft to air launch the LauncherOne rocket system.
