There are a number of European launchers in operation or growth—Arianespace’s Vega, Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum, and Rocket Manufacturing unit Augsburg’s RFA One—with raise capacities comparable or barely greater than Firefly’s Alpha.

Firefly argues that its Alpha rocket providers a distinct segment available in the market for satellites too massive to fly with Rocket Lab or too small to benefit a devoted flight with SpaceX. Firefly has some contract wins to bear this out. The launch on Tuesday was the primary of as much as 25 Alpha flights booked by Lockheed Martin to launch a collection of tech demo satellites. The primary of those was Lockheed Martin’s 3,836-pound (1,740-kilogram) LM-400 satellite tv for pc, which was misplaced on Tuesday’s mission.

NASA, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace, the US Area Pressure, and a number of other extra business prospects have additionally reserved slots on Firefly’s launch schedule. With these contracts, Firefly has the fourth-largest launch confirmed backlog of any US launch firm, following SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Rocket Lab.

Whereas Firefly continues flying the Alpha rocket, its engineers are growing a larger Medium Launch Vehicle in partnership with Northrop Grumman. Final month, Firefly celebrated essentially the most vital accomplishment in its 11-year historical past—the first fully successful landing on the Moon by a business entity.

However whereas Firefly’s first missions at its founding have been to construct rocket engines and launch small satellites, different markets could finally show extra profitable.

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, argues rockets like Firefly’s Alpha are in a “no man’s land” within the launch market. “It’s too small to be a helpful rideshare mission, and it’s too large to be a helpful devoted rocket” for smallsats, Beck told Space News.

Firefly may need an excellent technique to show Beck incorrect. However first, it wants a extra dependable rocket.