A Texas-based company is accelerating the production of spacecraft with expanded campus and innovation lab in central Texas. <\/p>\n
Firefly Aerospace has expanded its cleanroom space, and added an innovation lab to support Firefly\u2019s growing workforce, accelerate spacecraft production, and enable breakthrough space technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith operations centralized in Texas, Firefly is producing rockets and spacecraft at scale to meet the demand of the rapidly growing defense, exploration, and commercial space markets,\u201d said Ramon Sanchez, COO of Firefly Aerospace. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategic investments we\u2019ve made in our Cedar Park campus allow us to template our successful Blue Ghost lunar lander into a production line for multiple lunar missions a year that support NASA\u2019s Moon Base initiative and the larger commercial lunar economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Firefly\u2019s new innovation lab<\/p>\n
The expansion includes two new buildings adjacent to Firefly\u2019s existing spacecraft facility in Cedar Park, Texas, enabling one robust campus with 144,000 total square feet for spacecraft<\/a> assembly and testing, mission control, avionics and component production, engineering, and business operations. The new campus is twice the size of Firefly\u2019s former Cedar Park facilities and is less than 30 miles from Firefly\u2019s 200-acre Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas, where the company operates six test stands and 217,000 square feet of facilities for launch vehicle engineering, manufacturing, and integration, according to<\/a> a press release.<\/p>\n Called Gloworks, Firefly\u2019s new innovation lab further enables rapid technology innovation in key areas, such as propulsion, carbon composites, robotics, and 3D printing. This emergent-work lab is utilized to enhance the capabilities of Firefly\u2019s launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles and break into new categories that align with the growing needs of Firefly\u2019s diverse customers. <\/p>\n Lab houses high-tech machinery<\/p>\n The lab houses high-tech machinery, including 3D and titanium printers, plasma cutters, composite fabrication, welding, and automated milling machines<\/a>.<\/p>\n As part of the expanded campus, Firefly has made significant progress on a new cleanroom that is four times the size of its existing cleanroom. Funded by a Texas Space Commission grant, the new cleanroom enables a dedicated assembly line of Firefly\u2019s\u00a0Blue Ghost lunar landers\u00a0and\u00a0Elytra orbital vehicles, as per the release<\/a>.<\/p>\n