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:

Northrop Grumman invested $50 million in Firefly Aerospace's new medium launch vehicle, Eclipse, which they are co-developing.
Eclipse is designed to carry nearly 36,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit for national security and space station resupply, with a debut launch anticipated as soon as 2026.
Firefly aims to position Eclipse as an affordable, medium-lift alternative, especially for government programs like the U.S. Space Force's NSSL Lane 1, and plans for the vehicle to eventually be fully reusable.

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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).