Firefly to Test Launch NASA CubeSat; Thomas Markusic, Garrett Skrobot Comment

Increasingly powerful electronics mean that CubeSats – which can be built economically by students, scientists and small companies around standard-sized 10cm by 10cm frames – are becoming powerful tools for researching in-orbit capabilities, and even direct imaging of the Earth or space environments. NASA requires that the launches take place by April 2018.

Each of the companies has commercial customers lined up, and could launch satellites weighing hundreds of pounds, not just the smallest CubeSats.

That’s where Firefly and its family of launch vehicles comes in.

“Traditionally when the government brings a new capability forward, it’s something that the government puts money out to try to develop”.

All three rockets are still in development and have not yet launched. Traditionally, that represents 10 to 20 times an initial upfront cost of what you see for what we pay for a launch service.

“It’s a huge step for the commercialization of space”, Mark Wiese, chief of the Flight Projects Office for NASA’s Launch Services Program, which is based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, said during a news conference today (Oct. 14).

The program is created to provide dedicated launches of groups of cubesats. Since its inception, Firefly’s mission has been to dramatically reduce the cost of commercial launch services for small satellites and science missions across the entire sub-1 metric ton payload segment.

Also, there is not much room available for the secondary flights, so there is a backlog of more than 50 missions that will be ready during the next three years, and more are being developed all the time.

“Until today, CubeSats have been dependent on other launch vehicles to obtain their ride to space and piggyback as hitchhikers”, said Garrett Skrobot, NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites mission lead. Wiese said NASA evaluated the winners based on their ability to balance cost with capabilities. “We’re eager to work with the VCLS providers as they develop new launch capabilities for the Earth science community”.

Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne, still under development, is among launchers selected by Nasa to deliver small satellites to space – offering an alternative to ride-sharing for cubesat operators.

Firefly was the next largest recipient at $5.5 million.

“At that time we’ll be proud to call ourselves Floridians, and signal to the world that the most exciting and innovative technologies in space access are still happening right here on the Space Coast”, said Maureen Gannon, Firefly’s vice president for business development.

This first tranche of Venture Class launch contracts, valued at $17.15 million – $6.95 million to Rocket Lab, $5.5 million to Firefly and $4.7 million to Virgin – may be followed by further small satellite contracts, says NASA.

Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne will be “air launched” by a commercial jet that could take off from many runways, including KSC’s former Shuttle Landing Facility, before dropping the rocket from thousands of feet up in the sky.

The amount paid for NASA’s demo VCLS missions all vary notably from the advertised price for each rocket.

Those small payloads now must hitch rides on large rockets that typically cost $100 million or more, such as last week’s launch of an Atlas V rocket of a national security satellite from California. “In the case of NASA, they wanted to fly on one of our early launches”.

“We are excited to add NASA to our growing list of customers who have signed contracts to launch small satellites onboard LauncherOne”, said Virgin Galactic president Steve Isakowitz. Peter Beck, chief executive of the company, said its launch for NASA is scheduled for late 2016 or early 2017, and will be the fifth launch overall for the Electron small launch vehicle.

Rocket Lab was founded in 2007.

“The CubeSats represent that high risk-tolerant payload, which are flawless for a demonstration of a first flight”, explained Weise.

“We are buying a demonstration mission, so we know we’re one of the first flights of these companies”, he said.