Participated · Series A · May 2021

Firefly Aerospace builds small- and medium-class rockets (Alpha), a lunar lander, and the Elytra spacecraft. The company plans a lunar lander launch later this year and the Elytra's first mission next year. It intends to move Alpha to full-rate production and accelerate development of a Medium Launch Vehicle co-developed with Northrop Grumman. Operationally, Firefly has launched Alpha five times since September 2021, with three missions successfully placing payloads into orbit and a record rapid-response launch (27 hours from green light). The company has agreements with L3Harris for up to 20 launches from 2027 and with Lockheed Martin for 15 committed launches through 2029. A recent large financing round positions the company to meet its near-term mission manifest and production goals. Firefly Aerospace develops end-to-end space transportation systems, including the Alpha small launch vehicle, the Elytra on-orbit vehicle, and the Blue Ghost lunar lander product line. The company has secured multiple U.S. government and commercial contracts, including three NASA CLPS task orders and a NASA Alpha mission. Firefly has also concluded a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin, signed a multi-launch agreement with L3Harris, and has Elytra contracted for a National Reconnaissance Office mission scheduled to fly on Alpha next year. The Medium Launch Vehicle, co-developed with Northrop Grumman, has major milestones planned before year-end. Firefly has reported recent responsive launch success, including the VICTUS NOX mission referenced by company leadership. Financially, the company has been raising capital throughout 2023–2024 to support production and mission execution. Firefly Aerospace, founded in 2014, develops the Alpha orbital rocket and other space systems including a proposed lunar lander called Blue Ghost. It has won multiple satellite launch orders and a $93 million NASA contract for Blue Ghost. The company raised $75 million in a Series A in May 2021 and later received a $75 million direct Series B preferred equity investment from AE Industrial Partners as part of a deal that transferred Noosphere's stake. Noosphere reportedly sold about $100 million of its holdings to Series A participants earlier, and its remaining equity would have been valued at around $500 million before the AEI transaction. Firefly's maiden Alpha launch failed to reach orbit and its ability to reach orbit will affect timing of any public listing. AE Industrial Partners' recent purchase gives it over 50% of Firefly's equity and the right to appoint a majority of the board, after Noosphere sold its holdings amid CFIUS concerns. The FAA has yet to issue a launch license for the company's second Alpha flight, though the FCC approved a communications authorization transfer tied to that launch. Firefly develops a family of launch vehicles and in-space vehicles and services that aim to provide affordable, convenient, and reliable access from LEO to the surface of the Moon. Its product line includes the Alpha small launch vehicle, the Space Utility Vehicle, and the Blue Ghost lunar lander, and it touts LEO solutions up to ten metric tons of payload at the lowest cost per kg in the small-lift class. Firefly is completing preparations for the inaugural launch of Alpha from Vandenberg Space Force Base and has announced multiple commercial and civil Alpha launch contracts with customers including NASA and General Atomics. The company was awarded a $93.3 million NASA CLPS contract to deliver 10 science payloads to the lunar surface in 2023 using Blue Ghost. Firefly completed an oversubscribed $75 million Series A that valued the company at greater than $1 billion and executed approximately $100 million in secondary transactions of Noosphere Ventures’ holdings. The company intends to raise an additional $300 million later in 2021 to fund its growth plans through 2025. Firefly Aerospace, led by founder and CEO Tom Markusic, designs and builds small-to-medium launch vehicles and spacecraft from its Austin/Cedar Park facilities. The company emphasizes rapid iteration—designing, building, testing and rebuilding quickly—to lower costs and increase access to space. Its long-term vision includes reusable, runway-launched rockets operating with airline-like cadence. Firefly reports it and its predecessor have spent about $110 million to date and that it has raised roughly $70 million in the past two years. The company has not yet completed a Series A round of venture capital funding. Firefly won a NASA lunar payload services contract in November 2018, conducted a successful engine test on May 17, 2018, and plans a new launch facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida, while aiming to fly its first rocket in the next six months.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2020

D-Orbit leverages its experience with flown orbital transfer vehicles to offer managed orbital logistics services, including last-mile payload delivery, orbital transfer and hosted services on a subscription basis. The company is pursuing a Deorbit-as-a-Service (DaaS) model intended to let customers define mission objectives while D-Orbit provides the vehicle and operations, aiming to reduce time and cost compared with buying dedicated hardware. Through the DIU/SDA award, D-Orbit Space will demonstrate rendezvous, docking and other on-orbit capabilities that could enable refueling, repair, inspection and repositioning missions in low Earth orbit. For the DaaS demonstration D-Orbit Space will lead the effort with partners TransAstra and Falcon Exodynamics. The company positions the service model as scalable and resilient to meet repeated government mission demands.