Firefly Aerospace set to get $110 million EXIM loan

A $110 million financing package from the U.S. Export-Import Bank would give Firefly Aerospace fresh capital to expand spacecraft production in Texas, turning a commercial space loan into a clear industrial-policy bet. The bank’s board was poised to vote Tuesday morning on a 10-year facility with a 12-month availability window, and the expansion could create about 200 jobs in Texas.

The deal fits a broader shift inside Washington. EXIM, the official export credit agency of the United States, says it exists to fill financing gaps when private lenders will not, and it has recently moved to use that mandate more aggressively for strategic industries. On May 21, the bank launched ExportAI to support U.S. artificial intelligence exports and competitiveness, and its FY 2026-2030 strategic plan says it will finance the industries of the future and help export American AI technology. Firefly’s loan shows that same logic extending beyond software into spacecraft manufacturing.

Firefly has become one of the most visible names in the U.S. commercial space sector because it is no longer just a launch company. Its Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched on January 15, 2025, landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025 at Mare Crisium near Mons Latreille, and operated for more than 14 days on the lunar surface. Firefly said the mission was the first fully successful commercial Moon landing, and NASA said it ended on March 16, 2025 after returning science and technology data. The company also flies customer satellites to orbit on its Alpha rocket and builds satellite platforms for multiple mission types.

The Texas expansion would build on a run of capital spending and growth. On May 19, 2026, Firefly said it moved into a larger Cedar Park headquarters, doubled the size of its facilities there, expanded cleanroom space and added an innovation lab. Firefly also said an earlier Texas Space Commission grant would add 50 jobs, underscoring how state and federal support are now reinforcing each other around Central Texas aerospace manufacturing.

Firefly has been raising money while scaling fast. The company announced a proposed common-stock offering on May 26, 2026 and priced it at $48 a share on May 28, and on May 4 it reported record first-quarter 2026 revenue of $80.9 million. For EXIM, backing Firefly is about more than one company’s balance sheet: it is a signal that the federal government wants U.S. space manufacturers to build faster, hire more, and compete for strategic aerospace business against rivals such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab.