Firefly names former SpaceX and Blue Origin Veteran as COO

​Cedar Parks, Texas, August 17, 2021–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.

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,” he added.