Ultimate Steve Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) So, remember Firefly Space Systems, the smallsat company that went bankrupt a while back? Well, they were "bought" by a new investor who is willing to fund at least $100M of rocket development. Their new design is aiming for 1000kg to LEO and 600kg to SSO and has ditched the aerospike engine for four more traditional engines. They have since test fired their second stage engine and currently plan to conduct their first orbital test in the second half of 2019. They have also gotten a serious (but not entirely finalized) agreement to take over SLC-2W (west coast) once the final flight of Delta II takes place. http://spacenews.com/firefly-aerospace-to-take-over-vandenberg-delta-2-pad/ Another smallsat launch provider has hopefully re-entered the game! Edited May 4, 2018 by Ultimate Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Back from the brink, eh? Well, for me it mostly shows that there are companies out there, still willing to invest serious funds into space flight. It makes me happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargamel Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Daaahhh.... I was hoping, since this was in the S&SF sub forum, that somebody was actually building a Firefly freighter..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Ditching the aerospike sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSEP Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 (edited) Just a blatant copy of the Electron /s I like how the basic design of the Falcon is everywhere nowadays. 1 booster and 1 upperstage, wich are all the same size in diameter, and most at the time use no more than 2 different rocket engines. Artificial selection! Edited May 6, 2018 by NSEP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monophonic Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 2 hours ago, NSEP said: Just a blatant copy of the Electron /s I like how the basic design of the Falcon is everywhere nowadays. 1 booster and 1 upperstage, wich are all the same size in diameter, and most at the time use no more than 2 different rocket engines. Artificial selection! Convergent evolution, for a given purpose all designs tend towards a single optimum. On Firefly itself, I remember I tried to build an Alpha analog in KSP 0.22 or thereabouts. A single T800 and aerospike for first stage, a stack of oscar-bs and can't quite remember which tiny engine for second stage. I did not get much further with it because I could not cobble together anything worthwhile (in my mind) for payload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 I happened to include the Black Arrow in the poster of rockets I put together for my 4yo's birthday, and I was struck by how very small it was. Roughly the same payload as Falcon 1 but barely over half as tall. Kerosene + peroxide has fantastic impulse density even if its Isp sucks. I'd love to see an aerospike smallsat LV using keroxide on the first stage, a peroxide monoprop circularization stage, and a couple of SRBs to help it get off the ground. Like ARCA but realistic. A composite frame would probably give it a good enough drag coefficient to survive re-entry (especially if it was an aeroplug nozzle) and chute down, since aeroplugs are much sturdier than conventional bells. Inflatable bladders could be used to make it pressure-fed with peroxide preburner tapoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insert_name Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Looks like they are getting some revenue http://spacenews.com/sstl-orders-launches-from-firefly-aerospace/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 There webpage is here (wasn't in OP): http://www.fireflyspace.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rocket Scientist Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 What are they burning? That flame looks so bright and torch like, and there's no shock diamonds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaverickSawyer Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 5 minutes ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said: What are they burning? That flame looks so bright and torch like, and there's no shock diamonds. According to the company webpage, they're running a kerolox mix. Not a bad choice for a startup, as SpaceX has handily proven. Also, per a post on Firefly's Twitter that links to that video: Alpha second stage “Lightning” engine development test demonstrating steady state operation of pump-fed tap-off cycle engine. Firefly is working toward fully integrated Alpha Stage 2 test soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerbolExplorer Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 5/3/2018 at 3:57 AM, Ultimate Steve said: SSO What does SSO mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Steve Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 12 minutes ago, KerbolExplorer said: What does SSO mean? Sun synchronous orbit. It's a polar orbit where, due to the gravitational irregularity of Earth, the orbit will process (not sure if its the right word) once a year, meaning satellites can operate pretty much forever on the day/night terminator, always be in sunlight, and always have a view of Earth where the shadows are at the same angle they were the previous day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 9/18/2018 at 9:40 PM, MaverickSawyer said: According to the company webpage, they're running a kerolox mix. Not a bad choice for a startup, as SpaceX has handily proven. Also, per a post on Firefly's Twitter that links to that video: Quote Alpha second stage “Lightning” engine development test demonstrating steady state operation of pump-fed tap-off cycle engine. Firefly is working toward fully integrated Alpha Stage 2 test soon. Tap-off? Interesting! Following BO's lead in cycle even if it's SpaceX/RocketLab in prop choice. Coking will be a problem for that, though, so reuse is unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 12 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said: process It's precess. This announcement is important because they now have facilities locked down on both coasts to cover the orbits customers (the military, for example) want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman4308 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 27 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said: Sun synchronous orbit. It's a polar orbit where, due to the gravitational irregularity of Earth, the orbit will process (not sure if its the right word) once a year, meaning satellites can operate pretty much forever on the day/night terminator, always be in sunlight, and always have a view of Earth where the shadows are at the same angle they were the previous day. Only the precession bit is necessary. Riding the day-night terminator is optional for sun-synchronous orbits; you can have one that, for example, stays at around 12:00 AM and PM. It's mostly about consistent lighting for imaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordFerret Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, tater said: I noticed this the other day, Firefly. They're hiring. I sent the link to my cousin's son, who's about to make his exit (graduate) from Embry-Riddle. https://fireflyspace.com/ Edited February 27, 2019 by LordFerret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightside Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 On 2/27/2019 at 10:41 AM, LordFerret said: I noticed this the other day, Firefly. They're hiring. I sent the link to my cousin's son, who's about to make his exit (graduate) from Embry-Riddle. https://fireflyspace.com/ Well they certainly need a new graphic designer before they get sued by Tesla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordFerret Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 14 hours ago, Nightside said: Well they certainly need a new graphic designer before they get sued by Tesla. Similar, but not. I don't think they've got anything to worry about. A thing like this was well researched before used, as were the multitude of other 'Firefly' logos that are out there (Google the name). Besides, Tesla being in the hole they are currently, they don't have the cash or hope to press suit against anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Steve Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 Well, I didn't think that they were this far along! It looks like they will actually fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegarrison Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 On 2/28/2019 at 6:05 PM, Nightside said: Well they certainly need a new graphic designer before they get sued by Tesla. It looks a lot closer to the Boeing "totem" logo from the 1930s than it does Tesla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrandedonEarth Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Now I start to wonder about using a turbopump shaft output to power a dragster.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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