Ibadan, 26 September 2024. – Firefly Aerospace will undertake a NASA Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) mission to launch the QuickSounder environmental satellite on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Launching on Firefly’s Alpha rocket in 2026, the collaborative mission between NASA and NOAA is the first project supporting NOAA’s new Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program.
NEON is a next-generation environmental satellite system that will supplement and eventually replace NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System. Furthermore, the NEON program aims to launch small to medium-sized satellites with Earth-observing instruments more frequently to create a resilient constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites that deploy quickly to enhance the US’s weather forecasting, disaster management, and climate change monitoring.
Additionally, QuickSounder will be the first environmental satellite to launch as part of NEON. Consequently, QuickSounder will carry NOAA’s Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument that provides critical information about Earth’s atmosphere, such as temperature and moisture, within just 30 minutes of data collection to significantly improve NOAA’s weather prediction models for fires, floods, droughts, and more.
Launching from Firefly’s SLC-2 launch site at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, the QuickSounder mission will be Firefly’s second Alpha launch for NASA. Firefly will rely on its flight-proven Alpha rocket, providing responsive, reliable, and cost-competitive launch services directly to customers’ preferred orbits
Speaking on the mission, Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said, “The Firefly team is honored to support this critical pathfinder mission for the NEON program that will transform our nation’s weather forecasting and climate models.” The CEO also added, “Our flight-proven Alpha rocket that’s dedicated to serving the one-metric ton launch market is well suited to meet the needs of the NEON program, which requires fast, flexible, and direct launch services.”