Key Highlights
- Shares of Firefly Aerospace (FLY) gained approximately 6% during Wednesday’s morning session.
- The space company announced a commercial partnership with Starcloud for lunar payload services.
- Starcloud will deploy its SC-1L AI processor to demonstrate computing capabilities in lunar orbit.
- The payload will be carried on Firefly’s Elytra orbital transfer vehicle.
- The mission is scheduled for launch no sooner than 2028.
Firefly Aerospace (FLY) shares climbed approximately 6% in Wednesday’s early trading session. The rally came after the company announced a commercial partnership with Starcloud to demonstrate artificial intelligence computing technology in lunar orbit.
This partnership expands Firefly’s revenue streams beyond its core lunar landing and transportation offerings. The Starcloud AI processor will be hosted on Firefly’s Elytra orbital transfer vehicle.
With a launch window opening in 2028 at the earliest, the mission aims to validate technology that could one day enable data processing centers positioned near the Moon.
Starcloud’s SC-1L processor is designed to receive information from Firefly’s Solux navigation system. The processor will then execute AI computations in lunar orbit before transmitting processed data back to ground stations on Earth.
Starcloud has previously demonstrated comparable AI computing capabilities in low Earth orbit. This upcoming mission extends that proven concept to cislunar space.
Mission Architecture and Integration
The Starcloud computing payload is scheduled to fly on Firefly’s third lunar campaign. Initially, Elytra will function as both a transfer stage and communications relay platform for the company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Blue Ghost is scheduled to land at the Gruithuisen Domes region on the Moon’s surface. The landing mission falls under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
Following the lander deployment, Firefly intends to maintain Elytra in lunar orbit for a five-year operational period. The spacecraft would host additional commercial and government payloads while conducting imaging operations.
According to Ezra Feilden, Starcloud’s cofounder and chief technology officer, the company has already successfully validated both running and training AI models on GPU hardware in low Earth orbit. The next step involves bringing that validated technology platform to the lunar environment.
Firefly’s Solux vision technology enables spacecraft to determine their position and navigate without external guidance. This capability becomes critical in deep space environments where GPS satellite signals are unavailable.
Expanding Lunar Services Portfolio
Beyond payload hosting, Firefly is developing its Ocula lunar observation service. The platform is designed to provide surface mapping capabilities, mineral identification, and reconnaissance data.
The company has also established a separate partnership with NVIDIA. Under that agreement, Ocula imagery will be processed directly aboard Elytra using an NVIDIA Jetson computing module before being transmitted across approximately 240,000 miles back to Earth.
Processing imagery data before transmission could significantly reduce bandwidth requirements and improve operational efficiency. This approach addresses the inherent challenges of long-distance space communications.
The new Starcloud partnership represents another commercial application for Elytra as Firefly works to establish persistent infrastructure in cislunar space. This mission will utilize the second Elytra vehicle Firefly intends to deploy to lunar orbit.
Firefly’s initial Elytra spacecraft is scheduled to launch with Blue Ghost Mission 2. That flight has a target launch date of no earlier than 2027, approximately one year before the Starcloud demonstration mission.
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