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Space

Firefly and Northrop Grumman’s New Rocket Gets a Name, and $50 Million Investment

By Rachel Jewett

Thursday, May 29th, 2025

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Firefly and Northrop Grumman’s New Rocket Gets a Name, and $50 Million Investment

Rendering of the Eclipse rocket at Wallops Island, Virginia. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace and Northrop Grumman [NOC] revealed the name of their co-developed rocket as Eclipse, alongside a $50 million investment by Northrop Grumman to advance production. The companies have been working together since 2022 to develop an American-built first-stage upgrade for Northrop Grumman’s Antares 330 rocket and a new medium-lift launch vehicle. On Thursday, the companies announced that qualification testing is underway on Eclipse flight hardware, with more than 60 Miranda engine hot fire tests performed to date. Eclipse will first launch from Wallops…

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