Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY) has been awarded a Spacecraft Processing Operations Contract from NASA, making the company eligible to compete for task orders to provide payload processing facilities and services for NASA missions launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California.

Under the contract, Firefly can provide services including payload processing, fueling, integration, and encapsulation ahead of launch. The company's Payload Processing Facility (PPF) is located within 0.5 miles of its Space Launch Complex 2 on the north end of VSFB.

The facility includes a storage area, control room, workspace, airlock, and an ISO 8 cleanroom, and is capable of accommodating storage, fueling, and checkouts of small and medium-size payloads and hypergolic spacecraft.

Adam Oakes, Vice President of Launch at Firefly Aerospace, said the facility is "filling that void" in West Coast launch infrastructure. "Reliable access to space depends on more than rockets — it depends on the infrastructure that gets payloads ready to fly," Oakes said.

The award adds to Firefly's existing agreements with NASA, which include missions for NASA's Quicksounder and INCUS satellites, both set to launch on Firefly's Alpha rocket. According to the press release, the contract does not guarantee work but positions Firefly to bid on task orders as NASA missions arise.