Firefly Aerospace Completes Preliminary Design Review for NASA MoonFall Mission
Key Highlights
- ➤Firefly completes Elytra preliminary design review for NASA’s MoonFall mission
- ➤Elytra design meets mission requirements after NASA and JPL review
- ➤Firefly begins work toward final critical design review and hardware production
- ➤MoonFall targets launch readiness by late 2028
- ➤Elytra will deploy JPL drones surveying lunar south-pole terrain and resources
Expert Statements
Ray Allensworth, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace
“Completing PDR less than four months after contract award is a testament to the speed and rigor Firefly brings to every mission”
CEDAR PARK, Texas, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY), a market leading space and defense technology company, today announced it completed the preliminary design review (PDR) for its Elytra spacecraft that will deliver drones built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to the Moon's south pole for the agency’s MoonFall mission.
Firefly’s PDR, including members from NASA and JPL, conducted a thorough review of Elytra’s structural, thermal, propulsion, avionics, trajectory design, guidance and navigation, communications and control systems as well as the spacecraft's qualification and environmental test plans. The review confirmed Elytra’s design meets the mission requirements, and Firefly will now begin working toward the spacecraft’s final critical design review (CDR) ahead of hardware production and assembly.
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