Cedar Park, Texas – Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $21.8 million contract by the U.S. Space Force to launch a mission under the military’s quick-reaction space program. This marks the company’s third such award, further solidifying its role in supporting national security initiatives.
An artist's rendering show's a prototype of one of Firefly Aerospace's rockets. The Central Texas company has raised $75 million as it continues its growth. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
The Space Systems Command announced the contract for the mission, named Victus Sol, on February 13. Firefly’s Alpha rocket will carry out the launch as part of the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program, which focuses on rapidly deploying satellites in times of national security emergencies.
Details regarding the payload, mission objectives, and launch schedule remain undisclosed, according to Space Safari, the office overseeing the TacRS program. Based in New Mexico, Space Safari operates under the Space Systems Command.
The latest contract highlights a shift in the TacRS initiative from experimental missions to operational deployments. “Victus Sol is moving beyond TacRS demonstrations and will be available for operations,” a Space Safari spokesperson told SpaceNews, emphasizing the program’s growing role in military applications.
Firefly CEO Jason Kim underscored the mission’s significance, stating, “This mission will provide the operational capability to have a launch vehicle and space vehicle on standby while we continue to launch other commercial and government missions until we’re called up by the Space Force.”
Firefly has previously launched the Victus Nox mission in September 2023 and is preparing to launch Victus Haze later this year, which will carry a satellite developed by space technology firm True Anomaly.
The Victus Sol contract was secured through competitive bidding under the Space Force’s Orbital Services Program-4, a flexible contracting mechanism managed by the Rocket Systems Launch Program of the Space Systems Command.
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