Max Polyakov’s Firefly Aerospace Will Launch Its First Rocket in 2019

Firefly, the space company led by Tom Markusic, starts its new life after getting the support of the entrepreneur Max Polyakov. Thanks to the new investments, the dark times are over and the company is about to launch its first rocket called Alpha by the end of 2019.

The Difficult Years of Firefly Company

Tom Markusic started his company named Firefly driven by the ideas to design a revolutionary rocket that would help space exploration. While the technical part was never an issue, the costs needed for accessing space became an obstacle to the realization of Tom’s idea. The investors were not in a hurry to put the funds into something that could become profitable only after the launch of the rocket. The rocket science is hard and requires time they did not want to spend upon. Due to the lack of finances, the Firefly had even to stop its work for six months in the middle of 2016.

Firefly Starts Its New Life after Meeting Max Polyakov

Firefly got a new chance for development after Tom Markusic met Max Polyakov. Unlike other investors, he was not afraid of high risks and distant payoff. Space was Max Polyakov’s old passion. He invested millions of dollars into Firefly and released it from the fundraising burden. The company’s team finally had a chance to focus on the technical details. Max Polyakov also brought the new vision on Alpha’s design which helped to make it more powerful.

The New Look on Alpha’s Design

Tom Markusic initially planned to create Alpha with the aerospike engine. Unlike conventional rocket engines, the innovative mechanism was supposed to be more effective at lower levels of the atmosphere. It would also require less fuel than traditional engines. While the idea seemed brilliant, no one ever made such an engine before.

After analyzing the market and the latest rocket projects, Max Polyakov came to the idea that the bigger size of Alpha will make it more cost-efficient. Markusic approved the changes suggested by Max Polyakov. The engineering team also decided to replace the aerospike with the traditional engine. That is how the rocket got a turbopump-fed propellant system.

Firefly’s First Launch and Company’s Future

Thanks to the change in technology, Alpha is expected to have a low cost per kilogram which will be unusual for the market. As for the rocket’s purpose, the creators are sure that Alpha will have its spot in the commercial market. It also can serve to the government. The rocket will be launched by the end of 2019.

Tom Markusic and Max Polyakov are sure that Alpha will not be the last project of Firefly. The potential launch of the rocket called Beta may happen as early as in 2021. Firefly also intends to create a space plane named Gamma.

Firefly has a lot of upcoming projects. However, the realization of ideas needs a lot of time and patience. Considering how difficult the space industry is, it may take up to several decades.