Firefly Aerospace Completes New Cleanroom to Accelerate Spacecraft Production
New Texas Space Commission–funded cleanroom boosts Firefly’s capacity to build multiple Moon and orbital spacecraft in parallel.
Rhea-AI Summary
Firefly Aerospace (FLY) has completed a new ISO Class 8 cleanroom at its 144,000-square-foot Cedar Park, Texas spacecraft campus, marked by a September 22, 2026 ribbon-cutting with representatives from the Texas Space Commission, federal and state government, and NASA programs.
The cleanroom is four times the size of Firefly’s existing unit, and together the two facilities can support simultaneous assembly of up to 12 Blue Ghost lunar landers and Elytra orbital vehicles. The expansion is intended to scale manufacturing to meet rising demand, including five additional lunar missions under contract beyond Blue Ghost Mission 1 and two Defense Innovation Unit spacecraft contracts. The facility was funded by a grant from the Texas Space Commission.
Positive
- New cleanroom 4x larger than existing facility, expanding spacecraft assembly space
- Combined cleanrooms can support up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles in parallel
- Firefly holds five additional lunar missions under contract for Blue Ghost and Elytra
- Company also has two spacecraft contracts with the Defense Innovation Unit
- Cleanroom expansion funded by a Texas Space Commission grant
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
- Cleanroom expansion
- 4x existing cleanroom size
- New Cedar Park facility
- Campus size
- 144,000 square feet
- Firefly's Cedar Park campus
- Simultaneous production capacity
- Up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles
- Combined cleanroom assembly line
- Cleanroom rating
- ISO Class 8
- Assembly, integration, and testing of spacecraft
- Additional lunar missions
- Five missions
- Under contract for Blue Ghost landers and Elytra orbiters
- Defense spacecraft contracts
- Two contracts
- Defense Innovation Unit space-domain-awareness and deorbit services
Historical Context
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NASA awarded processing contract eligibility tied to Firefly's existing ISO 8 facility
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Defense Innovation Unit selected Elytra for preliminary deorbit-system design work
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
iso class 8 technical
space domain awareness technical
deorbit services technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Expanded cleanroom positions Firefly to scale production of its Blue Ghost landers and Elytra orbital vehicles amid growing mission demand
*Firefly spacecraft cleanroom ribbon cutting with Ray Allensworth, VP of Spacecraft at Firefly; Norman Garza, Texas Space Commission Executive Director; Jason Kim, CEO at Firefly; Adam Schlesinger, NASA CLPS Project Manager; Gwen Griffin, Texas Space Commission Board Chair; Jim Geffre, NASA Moon Base Deputy Manager
CEDAR PARK, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY), a market leading space and defense technology company, today celebrated the completion of its new cleanroom facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony joined by representatives from Texas Space Commission, federal and state government, and NASA’s Moon Base Program and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The expansion marks a significant milestone in scaling the company's spacecraft manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand for lunar and in-space services.
The new cleanroom is four times the size of Firefly’s existing cleanroom and part of the company's 144,000-square-foot campus in Cedar Park, Texas. Combined, the two cleanrooms enable a dedicated assembly line capable of supporting up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles simultaneously, dramatically increasing throughput as the company ramps up its mission cadence. With an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Class 8 rating, the cleanrooms enable Firefly to assemble, integrate, and test its spacecraft with stringent contamination controls required for flight hardware.
"This new cleanroom represents a major step forward in making the Moon more accessible with reliable, high-cadence spacecraft for our government and commercial customers," said Ramon Sanchez, COO at Firefly Aerospace. "With support from the Texas Space Commission, we’ve built the infrastructure needed to meet growing demand for our in-space services and lunar delivery capabilities."
The expansion comes as Firefly's spacecraft program continues to gain momentum. Following Blue Ghost Mission 1, Firefly has five additional lunar missions under contract for its Blue Ghost landers and Elytra orbiters, and the company is working to scale up its proven technologies into a larger lander to deliver heavier lunar cargo, terrain vehicles, infrastructure, and power systems. Firefly also has two spacecraft contracts with the Defense Innovation Unit for space domain awareness and deorbit services.
The new cleanroom provides the production capacity to deliver on this growing manifest. The facility was funded by a grant from the Texas Space Commission, underscoring the state's continued investment in advancing the space industry and strengthening Texas's position as a national leader in aerospace innovation.
"This project is a perfect example of what the Texas Legislature and Governor Abbott envisioned when they created the Texas Space Commission," said Norman Garza, Jr., TSC Executive Director. "SEARF funding can enable extraordinary technology innovation, especially with the support of communities like Cedar Park. On behalf of the TSC board, congratulations to Firefly on the successful completion of their expanded ISO 8 cleanroom. We should all look forward to what this company does next!"
*Firefly’s new cleanroom at its spacecraft facility in Cedar Park, Texas
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for responsive space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with approximately 24-hour notice and the first to achieve a successful landing on the Moon. Established in 2017, Firefly’s engineering, manufacturing, and test facilities are co-located in central Texas to enable rapid innovation and vertical integration for the company’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles. For more information, visit www.fireflyspace.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” including, but not limited to, statements regarding the company’s manifest, manufacturing capabilities, market demand, statements of Firefly’s chief operating officer, and other statements regarding Firefly’s future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial condition, assumptions, future events, or performance that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “enable,” “expand,” “help,” “may,” “pave,” “position,” “will,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “would,” “target”, “set,” “intends,” “support,” and “believes.” There may also be negative words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved.
Various risks that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements included in this press release include, but are not limited to: our failure to manage our growth effectively, including the increasing technological complexity of our business, and our ability to achieve and maintain profitability; the potential for delayed or failed launches, and any failure of our launch vehicles and spacecraft to operate as intended; our inability to deliver software on time or of a quality that our customers demand; the hazards and operational risks that our products and service offerings are exposed to, including the wide and unique range of risks due to the unpredictability of space; the inability to realize our backlog; the fluctuation of our operating results; adverse publicity stemming from any incident involving us, our competitors, or our customers; the failure to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property rights; our inability to comply with our contractual obligations; and other risk factors set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs concerning future developments, which are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. We cannot assure you that the events reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur; actual events could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. We undertake no intent or obligation to publicly update or revise any of the estimates and other forward-looking statements made in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Media Contact
press@fireflyspace.com
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5b87c364-7991-4462-9bbf-1c0a4b4e6024
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8ec6138c-a850-4ec9-b097-6fad92d07eb4
