US-Israel Co-operation in Space Technology

Firefly Aerospace and IAI Enter Exclusive Agreement for U.S. Commercialization of Lunar Lander Technology.

Beresheet was planned in 2011 as part of a bold dream by three young Israeli engineers – Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub – to take part in the Google Lunar X Prize competition. It is an international contest that challenged the world’s engineers to create and send the first private lander to the moon.

The three founded SpaceIL, a non-profit organization, which partnered with Israel’s Aerospace Industries (IAI) to design and build the spacecraft. However, it failed very close, the technical design they used was and is stunning. Reason to get into co-operation.

“The experience gained in the Beresheet Moon mission co-developed with SpaceIL puts IAI at the forefront of lunar lander technology and enables us to undertake additional lunar missions with proven technology and significant engineering experience and knowhow,” said Boaz Levi, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Systems, Missiles & Space Group.

Firefly Aerospace Inc. (Firefly), a provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft and in-space services, announced today that it has signed an Intellectual Property and Engineering Support Agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for technology based on its Beresheet Lunar Lander.

Firefly Aerospace is one of the nine companies selected by NASA to participate in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver science payloads to the surface of the Moon.

“Firefly is excited to partner with IAI in architecting a complete lunar science mission for NASA’s CLPS initiative. IAI’s culture of engineering innovation and bold vision make our partnership a perfect solution for America as the nation realizes its return to the moon,” said Firefly CEO Dr. Tom Markusic.

“We are proud to partner with Firefly Aerospace and offer NASA our experience in rapid and affordable lunar missions, including all lessons learned from the Beresheet endeavor. We see in Firefly a similar mix of courage and technological knowledge that fits the IAI spirit and will drive us to the Moon quickly and robustly. This is an additional badge of honor to the Israeli space industry, which IAI, Israel Space House, leads.”

Shea Ferring, Firefly Vice President of Mission Assurance, added that, “Firefly Aerospace is excited to partner with Israel Aerospace Industries to provide the only NASA CLPS program flight-proven lander design. NASA and the U.S. will greatly benefit from IAI’s next generation lander design, leveraging extensive Beresheet lander design and flight operations experience. ‘Genesis’, a predominately U.S.-built version of the lander delivers a low-cost integrated solution for reliable lunar surface missions.”