Racing against the clock in the new space race

In rural Briggs, Texas, the engineers of Firefly Aerospace are setting the pace in a fierce competition to gain first-to-market advantage in the private space industry. The company aims to design, build, and fly rockets capable of launching small to medium-sized payloads into space at a lower cost, to enable ambitious commercial and exploration missions.

To develop rocket engine designs that output 1 million horsepower attached to lightweight, strong carbon-fiber stages, Firefly is pushing the limits of engineering with the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection. By rapidly prototyping, fabricating, and iterating on designs, the company is on track for the inaugural liftoff of its 95-foot-tall Alpha launch vehicle.

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