The Everyday Astronaut Gives Us Yet Another Glimpse Into the Private Space Industry
A Look Inside Firefly Aerospace
This week creator and science communicator Tim Dodd, better known as the Everyday Astronaut, provided us with a detailed look at the Austin, TX test site and factory of Firefly Aerospace. This interview and tour also follows a three video tour of SpaceX’s Starbase guided by none other than Elon Musk himself. The Starbase tour provided us with a plethora of information that SpaceX’s outside observers had only guessed at.
While we were only provided with one hour long video this time, Tim’s interview and tour provided by Firefly’s CEO Thomas Markusic, was just as in depth as all his videos. The interview opens with Firefly’s intrepid leader standing by the company’s Reaver engine. Four of which are used on the first stage of their Alpha rocket. You can tell from the soot on his face that Thomas has no issues with getting his hands dirty and putting his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to good use. Something tells me we wont be seeing Jeff Bezos elbow deep in a BE-4 anytime soon.
Almost immediately Tim gets us into the heady details as Thomas points out the electrical connector that caused the engine shutdown on Firefly’s first flight of their Alpha rocket ultimately leading to a failure to reach orbit. Coming off the heels of this first failed attempt Thomas lets us know that they still learned a lot from this mission and are excitedly ready to prove themselves on their next attempt.
You can tell that Tim lives by his motto “Bringing space down to earth for everyday people”. Just like in all of his videos, Tim doesn’t shy away from the complex. Rather, he makes a concerted effort to bring us simple yet comprehensive explanations of the complicated details of rocket science. Nevertheless, there’s only so much simplifying you can do when discussing expansion ratios and the pros and cons aerospike engines versus traditional bell nozzles.
After Tim and Tom are done geeking out on the engine test stand, we move inside to the newly built machine shop. We are taken on a first person walk through the upper floor of the building where cubicles are being put in to house programmers and other office personnel. Tim remarks at the amount of space in the office and that the company must be looking to expand. Thomas confirms this assumption, so it might be time to start polishing up your resume if you are looking to get in with this energetic startup.
On the ground floor of the machine shop, we are taken by large machine tools used to make parts for the Reaver engine. Strewn across the table of one the workers is a large number of papers diligently blurred out by the team at Everyday Astronaut. This serves as a reminder that while the private space industry is much more open and willing to share than the government and military run space programs of days past, there are still many secrets that need to be kept.
Our tour culminates in an exhilarating test firing of the Reaver engine. Tim provides some fantastic footage of the powerful engine with its bright green flames. After which, Thomas quickly lets Tim know that he must return to work. Another reminder of the CEO’s direct involvement with developing the technology of his company. I was left with a feeling of excitement and anticipation for what not only Firefly has next, but Tim Dodd as well. The Everyday Astronaut has already inspired so many people to be interested in learning about space, myself included, and I cannot wait to see what he has planned next.
Please make sure to check out the Everyday Astronauts YouTube channel, which can be found here. More information about Firefly Aerospace can be found at their website.
