Firefly names former SpaceX and Blue Origin Veteran as Chief Operating Officer

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, today announced that Lauren Lyons will join the team as Chief Operating Officer (COO), working out of their corporate headquarters in Cedar Park, Texas. This appointment comes on the heels of Firefly’s recent component business announcement and preparation for its upcoming launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The development of this new line of business was born out of the overwhelming interest in Firefly’s technology and the need, within the New Space industry, to shorten the time to market and have a reliable and consistent sourcing partner for the components necessary to develop spaceflight vehicles. Firefly is unique in that it not only builds and operates spaceflight vehicles, such as its Alpha rocket, but will also become a premier sourcing partner for other New Space companies to procure the components that are used in those vehicles, helping to lower the barrier to entry in the New Space market.

Lauren will be joining Firefly from Blue Origin where she was a Lead Systems Engineer in Blue Origin’s Advanced Concepts. Prior to Blue Origin, Lyons spent several years at SpaceX where she held leadership roles on the Dragon, Falcon 9, and Starlink programs, and with responsibilities in Vehicle Engineering, Safety and Mission Assurance, Chief Engineering, Business Development, and Mission Management.

“Firefly is entering a pivotal and exciting phase of its growth,” said Lauren Lyons, “I’m thrilled to take on the challenge of leading the efforts in scaling the company’s infrastructure to support rapid growth, high execution rate, and deliver exceptional value and service to our customers.”

“I’m incredibly excited to partner with Lauren to take Firefly to new heights,” said Tom Markusic, CEO of Firefly.  “In addition to her strong engineering, project management and mission assurance experience, she is a great communicator.  Her ability to build productive relationships with the full spectrum of co-workers, collaborators and customers is perfectly aligned with Firefly’s vision of ‘Making Space for Everyone’.”

As Firefly looks towards its first Alpha launch, and the development of the Blue Ghost lunar lander, Lyons’ priorities will focus on transitioning Firefly from an R&D environment to a production environment that streamlines delivery to customers on schedule and with high reliability, while maintaining the essential capacity to innovate, execute quickly, and respond rapidly to changing market dynamics.