Firefly prepares lunar lander for January moon mission
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost is prepped and ready for its first mission to the moon, set for January. The new lunar lander is part of the Central Texas space firm’s $230 million contract with NASA to develop commercial travel and delivery to the moon. Firefly is based out of Cedar Park, but much of the manufacturing and magic happens at Rocket Ranch, a test site in northeastern Burnet County. Firefly Aerospace photo
Firefly Aerospace is preparing its new lunar lander for a trip to the moon, but it must first make the much shorter trip to Cape Canaveral in Florida. The lander, Blue Ghost, recently passed all environmental testing, which means it is ready to endure the rigors of space travel and carry out its NASA mission in January.
Firefly is headquartered in Cedar Park but has a massive manufacturing facility and testing site in Briggs, located in the northeastern corner of Burnet County. That facility, informally known as Rocket Ranch, has over 300 employees in jobs ranging from welder to rocket scientist.
For Blue Ghost’s first mission, dubbed Ghost Riders in the Sky, the lander will make the 45-day trip from Earth’s surface to the moon, where it will spend a full lunar day (equal to 14 Earth days). The lander will collect valuable data that NASA will use in its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, an ongoing project related to the moon’s economic prospects.
Blue Ghost is expected to be shipped in mid-December to NASA’s launch facility in Cape Canaveral, where it will wait for ideal launch conditions, which should be sometime in late January.
Ghost Riders in the Sky is the first of three missions Firefly has on the books with NASA for the CLPS initiative. The Central Texas firm is working under a $230-million contract with the space administration.
Firefly’s lander had to undergo extreme testing before it could be cleared for the mission to ensure it was ready for the severe conditions expected on the moon. This included being subjected to extreme temperatures, intense vibrations, and high levels of electromagnetic interference.
“Blue Ghost aced environmental testing and proved the lander is performing 100% as expected, which is a testament to the incredible Firefly team,” said Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim in a Nov. 25 media release. “This team has gone above and beyond with innovative testing approaches to ensure Blue Ghost is flight ready. While we know there will be more challenges ahead, I’m confident this team has what it takes to softly touch down on the lunar surface and nail this mission.”