Firefly’s Medium Launch Vehicle Has a New Name

Northrop Grumman invests $50 million to advance Firefly’s medium launch vehicle (MLV), now called Eclipse.

Jack Daleo

Monday, June 02, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

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Jack Daleo

Northrop Grumman will invest $50 million to help Firefly develop its newly named Eclipse medium-lift launch vehicle. [Courtesy: Firefly Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

Firefly Aerospace secured a $50 million investment from Northrop Grumman to support the development of its new medium launch vehicle, officially named Eclipse.
The Eclipse rocket, co-developed with Northrop Grumman, is designed to carry nearly 36,000 pounds of payload to low-Earth orbit, targeting national security and space station resupply missions.
Leveraging components from Firefly's Antares 300 and Alpha rockets, Eclipse aims for a debut launch as early as 2026 and eventually plans for full reusability.
Eclipse is positioned to offer a balance of payload capacity and affordability, making it a competitive option for U.S. government programs like the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Lane 1.

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Firefly Aerospace on Thursday announced that Northrop Grumman invested $50 million to support the development of its medium launch vehicle (MLV), which now has an official name: Eclipse.

Northrop is codeveloping Eclipse with Firefly—which provides the first stage of its Antares 300 family of medium-lift launch vehicles—to fill niches such as national security and space station resupply. Built with components seen on Antares and Firefly’s less powerful Alpha, Eclipse promises to launch nearly 36,000 pounds of payload to low-Earth orbit (LEO).