Firefly Aerospace Opens Research and Development Center in Dnipro, Ukraine

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May 23, 2018, 01:00 ET

CEDAR PARK, Texas, May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (Firefly), a developer of orbital launch vehicles for the small to medium satellite market, announced today the official opening of its Research and Development (R&D) center in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine (Firefly Ukraine).

Headquartered in Cedar Park, TX, Firefly currently has additional offices in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan. The opening of the Dnipro R&D center is a significant milestone towards achieving future Firefly goals.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (PRNewsfoto/Firefly Aerospace, Inc.)

Left: Dr. Max Polyakov, Firefly founder. Right: Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine

Left: John Isella, Firefly Director of International Business Development. Center: Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine. Right: Dr. Max Polyakov, Firefly founder

The new R&D center will further enable the world-class engineering teams at Firefly Aerospace to design and manufacture components of launch vehicles and launch systems. Firefly Ukraine, which will be home to more than 150 employees, is equipped with the largest 3D-printer in Ukraine, intended for industrial manufacturing of high-quality metal parts.

Firefly Aerospace was honored by the presence of the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, during the opening ceremony of the Dnipro R&D center.

John Isella, Director of International Business Development for Firefly and a resident of Dnipro said, "Firefly expects to be the first new space company to obtain a US Government Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) facilitating design collaboration between the US and Ukraine. This collaboration, once approved, will leverage the knowledge base in Dnipro and strengthen our business case. Firefly U.S. is looking forward to working with Firefly Ukraine in compliance with all U.S. export control requirements. Both companies have implemented robust programs designed to ensure compliance now and in the future."

"We plan to launch the first Firefly Alpha in the third quarter of 2019. By 2021, our mass production facilities will support two Alpha launches per month. This will enable our customers to purchase dedicated launches, allowing them to go directly to the orbit of their choosing, according to their schedule," said Firefly founder Dr. Max Polyakov.

Firefly CEO Dr. Tom Markusic added, "Our US based team is incredibly impressed with the engineering skills and manufacturing capability available in Ukraine. The growth of our company to include these new team members will allow us to dramatically accelerate the pace of development of our future Firefly launch vehicles."

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly is developing a family of launch vehicles to provide industry-leading affordability, convenience and reliability for dedicated light to medium lift launches. Firefly's Alpha and Beta vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to one and four metric tons of payload respectively. Alpha and Beta will provide the space industry with access to frequent launches at the lowest cost/kg, enabling ambitious commercial and exploration missions from LEO to the moon. Headquartered in Cedar Park, TX, Firefly has additional presence in Washington, D.C., Dnipro, Ukraine and Tokyo, Japan. Firefly is financed by Noosphere Ventures of Menlo Park, CA.

Contact
Eric Salwan
512-277-6959
[email protected]

Related Links
http://www.fireflyspace.com

SOURCE Firefly Aerospace, Inc.