Firefly Joins NASA's $10 Billion CLPS 2 Lunar Program

Firefly Aerospace has been onboarded as a vendor under NASA's CLPS 2 contract aimed at increasing commercial deliveries to the Moon.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Space

Firefly Joins NASA's $10 Billion CLPS 2 Lunar Program

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Firefly Aerospace was onboarded as a vendor under NASA's $10 billion CLPS 2 IDIQ contract, which has a 10-year ordering period. The company previously landed Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon in March 2025 and has won four additional CLPS 1 missions.

Why it matters

NASA's CLPS 2 initiative is designed to increase the cadence of commercial deliveries to the Moon. The contract supports the agency's permanent Moon Base and Artemis program objectives.

Firefly's expanded cleanroom can accommodate up to 12 spacecraft, and the company achieved a satellite launch to orbit with approximately 24-hour notice, the first commercial company to do so. Specific task-order values under CLPS 2 have not yet been disclosed.

The players

Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space company founded in 2017 and based in Cedar Park, Texas, that builds lunar landers and orbital vehicles.

NASA

NASA is the United States federal space agency responsible for the Artemis program and the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

The details

Firefly is ramping up production of Blue Ghost landers and Elytra orbiters in its expanded cleanroom and is using its AI software to enable autonomous guidance and descent operations on its larger lander. The company also acquired SciTec and Space-ng and has won a contract to deliver NASA's MoonFall mission.

March 2025: Blue Ghost Mission 1 landed on the Moon and completed all mission objectives.
November 7, 2026: Firefly announced its onboarding as a CLPS 2 vendor.
The CLPS 2 ordering period spans 10 years.

The Big Picture

The CLPS 2 award extends the predecessor CLPS 1 program, under which Firefly already won four additional missions, into a 10-year commercial lunar delivery vehicle. It follows the pattern set by CLPS 1 of NASA contracting private firms to deliver payloads to the Moon.

The contract is expected to expand the number of commercial lunar deliveries NASA can order over the next decade, which may affect the pace of Moon missions. The larger lander is designed to carry significantly more cargo, terrain vehicles, and power systems to the lunar surface.

The takeaway

Commercial firms are becoming a central part of NASA's lunar strategy, with CLPS 2 positioning companies like Firefly to support the agency's Moon Base and Artemis goals. Readers following space policy should watch for the specific task orders that follow the contract award.