Firefly Aerospace Will Launch NOAA's New Environmental Satellite

NEON land service (photo: dock. NOAA)

JAKARTA Firefly Aerospace, a space company from Texas, was selected as the launch service provider for the QuickSounder mission belonging to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The company was selected by NASA, as a representative of NOAA, through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract. In the contract, it is recorded that Firefly will receive a maximum total value of 300 million US dollars (Rp 4.5 trillion).

"This contract allows the agency to award a fixed price for infinite/infinite number of shipments during the five-year order period VADR," NASA said, in its latest report.

Quicksounder is the next generation satellite launch program to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). While operating on LEO, the satellite will provide periodic data for NOAA's National Weather Services.

The data generated from the QuickSounder mission will also be provided for the national weather industry and users from around the world. It is planned that this small satellite in the Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program will be launched in February 2026.

"NEON will provide a new approach to developing a new global environmental satellite system by building small to medium-sized satellites with Earth's observation instruments for weather forecasts, disaster management and climate monitoring," NASA explained.

NEON is a collaborative NASA and NOAA program. As long as the NEON program runs, NASA will manage the development and launch of satellites, while NOAA will provide funding, technical requirements, and post-launch operations.