Cedar Park-Based Firefly Black Secures Lucrative Air Force Pact

CEDAR PARK, TX — Officials of Cedar Park-based aerospace firm Firefly Black, LLC on Monday announced the company was selected by the U.S. Air Force as a launch service provider in a deal valued at nearly $1 billion.

The firm was tapped by the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center’s Small Launch and Targets Division as a launch service provider for the Orbital Services Program-4 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract, company officials said. Valued at up to $986 million, OSP-4 seeks to provide the Air Force with responsive launch solutions as a follow-on to its successful OSP-3 program, officials added.

“Firefly Black is honored to have been selected by the Air Force for this key government space launch acquisition,” company President Leslie Kovacs said in a prepared statement. “Continuing rapid successes in the all-private development of our Alpha launch vehicle, including Stage 2 qualification, a successful quad engine firing of our first stage, and conversion of Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg AFB to support our first quarter, 2020 first launch, underscore our commitment to answer the nation’s call for responsive and reliable small launch services. We applaud the Air Force’s integration of small launchers into its strategic plan to ensure access to space for critical defense payloads”.

Firefly Black intends to bridge demand between pure small launch capability and that provided by the National Security Space Launch program, officials noted, by providing a family of small-to-medium launchers and in-space transportation services.