Cedar Park Aerospace Firm Signs Technology Pact En Route To Moon

CEDAR PARK, TX — Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace on Tuesday announced it has signed an Intellectual Property and Engineering Support Agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries for technology based on its Beresheet Lunar Lander.

Some context: Firefly Aerospace is one of the nine companies selected by NASA to participate in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver science payloads to the surface of the moon.

"Firefly is excited to partner with IAI in architecting a complete lunar science mission for NASA's CLPS initiative," Firefly CEO Dr. Tom Markusic said in a prepared statement. "IAI's culture of engineering innovation and bold vision make our partnership a perfect solution for America as the nation realizes its return to the moon."

Markusic explained the significant impact the pact would have on the locally based aerospace firm: "This agreement with IAI will allow Firefly to build on our momentum and expand our lunar capabilities by creating a U.S.-built version of IAI’s historic lunar lander. Having access to flight proven lunar lander technology and the expertise of IAI engineers makes Firefly well placed to gain a foothold in the cislunar market.”

Boaz Levi, executive vice president and general manager of Systems, Missiles & Space Group, expounded on the theme: "The experience gained in the Beresheet Moon mission co-developed with SpaceIL puts IAI at the forefront of lunar lander technology and enables us to undertake additional lunar missions with proven technology and significant engineering experience and knowhow," he said in a prepared statement. "We are proud to partner with Firefly Aerospace and offer NASA our experience in rapid and affordable lunar missions, including all lessons learned from the Beresheet endeavor. We see in Firefly a similar mix of courage and technological knowledge that fits the IAI spirit and will drive us to the Moon quickly and robustly. This is an additional badge of honor to the Israeli space industry, which IAI, Israel Space House, leads.”

Shea Ferring, Firefly Vice President of Mission Assurance, added: “Firefly Aerospace is excited to partner with Israel Aerospace Industries to provide the only NASA CLPS program flight-proven lander design. NASA and the U.S. will greatly benefit from IAI’s next generation lander design, leveraging extensive Beresheet lander design and flight operations experience. ‘Genesis’, a predominately U.S.-built version of the lander, delivers a low-cost integrated solution for reliable lunar surface missions.”