Firefly Aerospace
NASDAQ: FLYUnicorn · $6.5BLeander, US · Founded 2017 · Delaware corporation · 6 known investors
Find your way into Firefly Aerospace
1,693 people in our graph share verified history with the Firefly Aerospace team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Birgitteunlockedknows Robb Kulin · together at UC San Diego (overlapped)
knows the team · via Stoke Space
×2knows the team · via Latham & Watkins
knows the team · via Miami University
×2knows the team · via Princeton University
knows the team · via United States Air Force
Firefly Aerospace launches, lands, and operates space systems spanning Earth orbit to the Moon and cislunar space, serving customers such as commercial companies, NASA, and the U.S. Space Force. It develops the Alpha and Eclipse launch vehicles, Blue Ghost lunar landers, and Elytra orbital vehicles for payload delivery and in-space services.
Founders & leadership
Firefly Aerospace was founded in 2017 by Thomas Markusic, Thomas E. Markusic, and Eric Salwan.
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Thomas MarkusicinCo-founder · Chief Technical AdvisorThomas Markusic is a rocket scientist and aerospace engineer who founded Firefly Aerospace and previously held senior propulsion and engineering roles at SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, as well as positions in propulsion research at the U.S. Air Force and NASA. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.
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Thomas E. MarkusicinCo-founder · Chief Technical AdvisorThomas Markusic is CEO and Director of Firefly Aerospace, which develops launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles for commercial and government customers. He previously held senior propulsion and systems engineering roles at SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, worked on propulsion research and program management at the U.S. Air Force and NASA, and earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.
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Eric SalwaninCo-FounderEric began his career in 1999 in software development roles at KPN Research TNO and Tandberg (later acquired by Cisco), then served as a technical project leader, development manager, and ultimately CTO at the digital agency Sping. He currently works as CTO across several portfolio companies at Brooklyn Ventures, an investor in startups and scale-ups.
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Jason KiminChief Executive OfficerHe previously held leadership roles at Northrop Grumman Corporation, Millennium Space Systems (a Boeing subsidiary), and Raytheon Technologies in space and defense systems, and holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and UCLA Anderson School of Management.
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Russell Shea FerringSenior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer
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Daniel FermonSenior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
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Darren MaChief Financial Officer
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David WheelerinSenior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary2022–2026David Wheeler is a General Counsel and CPA with more than 20 years of experience in aerospace, defense, space, and aviation sectors, including leadership roles in public companies and oversight of major transactions and government-regulated programs. He holds a BBA in Aviation.
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Ramon SanchezinChief Operating Officer
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Nathan O'KonekinGeneral CounselNathan O'Konek is General Counsel at Firefly Aerospace, where he oversees legal and strategic matters for the space systems company. He brings more than 20 years of aerospace and defense experience, including prior roles as Chief Operating Officer at Star Catcher Industries, founding General Counsel at Neo Space Group, and EVP and General Counsel at NYSE-listed Redwire Corporation, along with earlier work supporting NASA and DARPA programs and capital markets legal practice in London and New York. He holds degrees from Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School.
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Brad SchneiderinChief Revenue Officer2019–2021Brad Schneider has held senior leadership roles including President, CFO, COO, and CRO at aerospace and defense companies, as well as in healthcare, with experience in advanced technology development, manufacturing, and operations across government and commercial markets.
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Russel FerringVice President of Spacecraft
Investors · 6
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$514M disclosed across 6 rounds · 2021–2026
▶$22MraisedJul 2026 · 18 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$22MraisedJul 2026 · 18 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Jason KimExecutive Officer, Director
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- Ramon SanchezExecutive Officer
- Shea FerringExecutive Officer
- Nathan O'KonekExecutive Officer
- Kirk KonertDirector
- Ryan BolandDirector
- Pamela BradenDirector
- Christopher EmersonDirector
- Jon LusczakoskiDirector
- Kevin McAllisterDirector
- Thomas ZurbuchenDirector
- Offering amount
- $22M
- Amount sold
- $22M
- First sale
- Jun 2026
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$175.5MraisedNov 2024 · 10 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$175.5MraisedNov 2024 · 10 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Jason KimExecutive Officer, Director
- Chris EmersonDirector
- Russell Shea FerringExecutive Officer
- Kirk KonertDirector
- Jed McCalebDirector
- Daniel FermonExecutive Officer
- Marc WeiserDirector
- Thomas MarkusicDirector
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- David WheelerExecutive Officer
- Amount sold
- $175.5M
- First sale
- Oct 2024
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$12.3MraisedMar 2024 · 2 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$12.3MraisedMar 2024 · 2 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Russell FerringExecutive Officer
- Chris EmersonDirector
- Peter SchumacherDirector
- William WeberExecutive Officer, Director
- Thomas MarkusicDirector
- Pete CannitoDirector
- Pamela BradenDirector
- Dan FermonExecutive Officer
- Kirk KonertDirector
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- Jed McCalebDirector
- Offering amount
- $12.3M
- Amount sold
- $12.3M
- First sale
- Jul 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$179.3MraisedMar 2024 · 9 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$179.3MraisedMar 2024 · 9 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Thomas MarkusicDirector
- Pete CannitoDirector
- Pamela BradenDirector
- Chris EmersonDirector
- Russell FerringExecutive Officer
- William WeberExecutive Officer, Director
- Peter SchumacherDirector
- Dan FermonExecutive Officer
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- Kirk KonertDirector
- Jed McCalebDirector
- Offering amount
- $179.3M
- Amount sold
- $179.3M
- Finders' fees
- $500K
- First sale
- Feb 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$50MraisedMar 2022 · 1 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$50MraisedMar 2022 · 1 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Kirk KonertDirector
- Jed McCalebDirector
- Peter SchumacherDirector
- Pete StarnesExecutive Officer
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- Russel Shea FerringExecutive Officer
- Pamela BradenDirector
- Thomas MarkusicExecutive Officer, Director
- Eric SalwanExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $75M
- Amount sold
- $50M
- Sales commissions
- $3M
- First sale
- Mar 2022
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$75MraisedMay 2021 · 8 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$75MraisedMay 2021 · 8 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Brad SchneiderExecutive Officer
- Deborah JamesDirector
- Darren MaExecutive Officer
- Russel FerringExecutive Officer
- Robb KulinExecutive Officer
- Paul StarnesExecutive Officer
- Jed McCalebDirector
- Thomas E. MarkusicExecutive Officer, Director
- Robert CardilloDirector
- Offering amount
- $75M
- Amount sold
- $75M
- Minimum investment
- $250K
- First sale
- Apr 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed events$6.5Bvaluation at IPOAug 2025 · $45.00/share · 424B4
filing ↗Source: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Firefly Aerospace went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors · 4
by search overlapSpaceX453 shared keywordsRevolutionizing space technology to make life multi-planetary
Capella Space392 shared keywordsCapella Space designs, builds, and operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellations that provide all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation imagery at sub-0.25m resolution. It offers an automated end-to-end tasking and data delivery platform serving defense and intelligence, maritime, disaster response, and infrastructure monitoring customers.
Lockheedmartin251 shared keywordsLockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that develops military aircraft, missile defense systems, helicopters, radar and sensor systems, spacecraft, and cybersecurity capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense, federal government agencies, and international customers.
Relativity Space170 shared keywordsRelativity Space develops Terran R, a reusable medium-to-heavy-lift rocket designed for efficiency and scalability, serving government entities, telecommunications companies, and commercial customers for space access missions. The company focuses on making space exploration more accessible, reliable, and sustainable.
Companies competing with Firefly Aerospace for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Firefly Aerospace Stock Slides Despite String of Fresh NASA Awards - Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) - Benzingabenzinga.com · Jul 2026
Northrop Grumman Invests in Defense-Focused Space Startup Firefly Aerospacebloomberg.com · May 2025Frequently asked questions
- What does Firefly Aerospace do?
- Firefly Aerospace launches, lands, and operates space systems spanning Earth orbit to the Moon and cislunar space, serving customers such as commercial companies, NASA, and the U.S. Space Force. It develops the Alpha and Eclipse launch vehicles, Blue Ghost lunar landers, and Elytra orbital vehicles for payload delivery and in-space services.
- Who founded Firefly Aerospace?
- Firefly Aerospace was founded by Thomas Markusic, Thomas E. Markusic, Eric Salwan in 2017.
- Who are Firefly Aerospace's investors?
- Firefly Aerospace's investors include AE Industrial Partners, Capital Factory, Noosphere Ventures, Republic Capital (ex Republic Labs), Rpm Ventures Iii Management, L.L.C., BGW Ventures.
- How much funding has Firefly Aerospace raised?
- Firefly Aerospace has disclosed $514M raised across 6 rounds.
- Where is Firefly Aerospace headquartered?
- Firefly Aerospace is headquartered in Leander, US.