Astrolab vs Firefly Aerospace: Landers, rovers & surface transport compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Firefly Aerospace ranks 13 on the Space 100 with a score of 83; Astrolab ranks 71 with 68. Firefly Aerospace is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, technology, positioning and firepower. Level on progress and leverage. Astrolab is based in Hawthorne, United States, Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, United States. Firefly Aerospace: Public, founded 2017. Astrolab is named in 45 signals and Firefly Aerospace in 437.

Astrolab →

Hawthorne, California, United States · Space · Planetary economy / Landers, rovers & surface transport · astrolab.space

Astrolab develops lunar rovers, including FLEX and FLIP, for cargo, payload delivery and crew support on the Moon, including for NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle missions.

Space 100 · rank 71 · score 68Robotics · watchlist · score 53

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production4
Commercials6
Progress10
Technology6
Positioning6
Firepower8
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Astrolab is a US lunar-rover company (Hawthorne, founded 2020) whose FLEX rover architecture and FLIP precursor went from startup to Artemis-critical when NASA selected its CLV-1 as one of two crewed Lunar Terrain Vehicles (May 2026, ~$220M; team with Axiom Space and Interlune, delivered by Blue Moon Mk1, deployment target 2028). Its FLIP precursor passed thermal-vac and integrated testing but its launch was delayed. Revenue is estimated at 10-100m class (the CLV award recognized over performance).

Latest signals

  • HPE plans to send its Spaceborne Computer 4 to the Moon by year-end 2026.ZDNet Korea
  • HPE Spaceborne Computer 4 to launch AI compute to the Moon on Astrolab's FLIP roverThe Register
  • Astrolab partners with Interstellar Mapping to hunt lunar waterPayload

45 signals name Astrolab.

Facts, with sources

  • Rovers will be delivered via Blue Moon Mark 1 landers for lunar surface operationsSpaceNews
  • Astrolab announced NASA payloads for an upcoming lunar missionAstrolab
  • FLEX Rover will install a greenhouse pod on the lunar surface for Artemis 4SpaceNews

47 facts on file.

Firefly Aerospace →

Cedar Park, Texas, United States · Space · Planetary economy / Landers, rovers & surface transport · Public · founded 2017 · fireflyspace.com

Firefly operates the Alpha launch vehicle and is planning recurring launches from Wallops and Esrange, including two contracted Alpha launches in 2028.

Space 100 · rank 13 · score 83

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment10
Production6
Commercials8
Progress10
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower9
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Firefly Aerospace is a US launch and lunar company (Nasdaq:FLY) whose Blue Ghost Mission 1 was the first fully successful commercial lunar landing (March 2025), now executing five lunar missions in parallel plus the Alpha launch vehicle and Elytra spacecraft line, with FY26 guidance of $420-450M and a record $1.5B backlog. It posted the strongest space Q2 of the season (Q2-26 revenue of $117.7M, +659% YoY, its first >$100M quarter), made an $855M SciTec acquisition (national-security software) plus a Space-ng acquisition, and won NASA, Air Force, and Golden Dome-related work with an NVIDIA collaboration. Its revenue mix is shifting to recurring spacecraft milestones.

Latest signals

  • Firefly Aerospace completed a key design review for NASA’s four-drone Moon mission.Interesting Engineering
  • Mission Control Space Services will supply Rashid Rover 2’s lunar communications link.SpaceQ
  • SSC Space and Firefly Aerospace completed key infrastructure for Alpha launches at Esrange and advanced to final pad construction.SSC Space

437 signals name Firefly Aerospace.

Facts, with sources

  • [object Object]SpaceNews
  • 1418SpaceNews
  • Public company, NASDAQ FLY, IPO August 2025SpaceNews

1592 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Astrolab or Firefly Aerospace: which is ahead in space?

Firefly Aerospace ranks 13 on the Space 100 with a score of 83; Astrolab ranks 71 with 68. Firefly Aerospace is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, technology, positioning and firepower. Level on progress and leverage. Astrolab is based in Hawthorne, United States, Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, United States. Firefly Aerospace: Public, founded 2017. Astrolab is named in 45 signals and Firefly Aerospace in 437.

How do Astrolab and Firefly Aerospace compare?

Firefly Aerospace ranks 13 on the Space 100 with a score of 83; Astrolab ranks 71 with 68. Firefly Aerospace is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, technology, positioning and firepower. Level on progress and leverage. Astrolab is based in Hawthorne, United States, Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, United States. Firefly Aerospace: Public, founded 2017. Astrolab is named in 45 signals and Firefly Aerospace in 437. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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