Firefly Aerospace has secured a NASA contract to launch the QuickSounder environmental satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2026. This mission, scheduled to take place on Firefly’s Alpha rocket, marks the first project supporting NOAA’s new Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program, which aims to improve weather forecasting, disaster management, and climate change monitoring.
Firefly Aerospace has been selected by NASA to launch NOAA’s QuickSounder environmental satellite on its Alpha rocket in 2026. This mission will be the first for NOAA’s new Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program and will provide vital data for weather forecasting and climate monitoring.
Firefly Aerospace is gearing up for its fifth launch tonight, carrying NASA payloads into orbit. The mission, named ‘Noise of Summer,’ will deploy eight CubeSats, including a test of an inflatable antenna, a cosmic ray detector, and missions designed by high school students to study Earth’s climate. The launch was originally scheduled for Monday but was scrubbed due to a ground systems issue. The company is confident that the rocket and payloads are ready for launch.
