Lauren Lyons tapped to lead efforts in scaling production and operations as Firefly moves into commercial production
![](https://firefly.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Lauren-and-Tom-Alpha.jpg)
CEDAR PARK, Texas Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, 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.
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.
Lauren Lyons stated:
“Firefly is entering a pivotal and exciting phase of its growth. 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.”
Tom Markusic, CEO of Firefly, said:
“I’m incredibly excited to partner with Lauren to take Firefly to new heights. 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.
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly is developing a family of launch and in-space vehicles and services that provide industry-leading affordability, convenience, and reliability. Firefly’s launch vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to ten metric tons of payload at the lowest cost per kg in the small-launch class. Combined with Firefly’s in-space vehicles, such as the Space Utility Vehicle and Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Firefly provides the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon or beyond. Firefly is headquartered in Cedar Park, TX.
Courtesy of Firefly Aerospace