Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provider Synspective ordered 10 launches on Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket, planned through 2030.
This is a new customer for Firefly, which plans to launch the missions both Pad-0A at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Each mission will launch two satellites for Synspective’s StriX constellation.
Synspective is also a major customer of Rocket Lab and signed the largest commercial contract for Electron last month for 20 launches, in addition to two previous 10-launch deals.
Synspective founder and CEO Dr. Motoyuki Arai said in a statement that scaling the constellation requires a diverse set of launch providers.
“Firefly has shown real commitment, working through the hard realities of developing a new launch vehicle and steadily building a track record with Alpha. Alpha’s payload class is well suited to our upcoming satellites, and its dual-coast access gives us valuable flexibility across orbital inclinations. Adding Firefly to our launch portfolio strengthens our ability to accelerate deployment and deliver resilient service to our customers,” Arai said.
Firefly hasn’t set a specific date for the next launch of its Alpha rocket, which will feature the full Block II configuration for the first time. CEO Jason Kim told investors in the company’s Q2 results that flight is targeted for the fourth quarter of this year.
It’s been a big week for Firefly Aerospace after the company also announced a deal to sell rocket engines and license its engine technology to AST SpaceMobile, which will build its own rocket based on Firefly’s engines.
