EO·Atlas
Pixxel Firefly Bus
Compiled from public sources on 2026-05-25. Not independently verified by Pixxel.
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In-house-designed satellite bus underlying the six Pixxel Firefly satellites (FFLY-1 to FFLY-6). Custom rectangular microsatellite platform at approximately 60 kg total satellite mass (bus and payload combined; mass split not published). Flies in sun-synchronous orbit at approximately 550 km altitude. Propulsion on FFLY-1, FFLY-2, and FFLY-3 confirmed as Dawn Aerospace SatDrive green bi-propellant system (nitrous oxide and propene); propulsion for FFLY-4, FFLY-5, and FFLY-6 not separately confirmed. Peak downlink exceeding 500 Mbps reported in orbit; downlink frequency band not published. Pointing to tasked coordinates validated in-orbit; numeric pointing budget not published. Assembled, integrated, and tested at MegaPixxel, Pixxel's 30,000-plus square-foot Spacecraft AIT facility in Bengaluru (ISO Class 7 and 8 cleanrooms, capacity approximately 40 satellites per year). Platform is also licensed to Cosmoserve for an active debris removal demonstration mission (2026).
Pixxel Firefly Bus is the in-house spacecraft platform used by the six Firefly satellites, FFLY-1 through FFLY-6, with public mission material describing the satellites as about 60 kg spacecraft in sun-synchronous orbit near 550 km altitude.[1] Pixxel reports in-orbit pointing to tasked coordinates and peak downlink above 500 Mbps for the Firefly satellites.[1] Pixxel says the Firefly spacecraft are assembled, integrated, and tested at MegaPixxel in Bengaluru, a spacecraft manufacturing facility with ISO Class 7 and ISO Class 8 cleanrooms and stated capacity of about 40 satellites per year.[2] Dawn Aerospace lists Pixxel Firefly 1, Firefly 2, and Firefly 3 among missions using its SatDrive green bi-propellant propulsion system.[3] Gunter Space Page lists Firefly 1 through Firefly 6 as Pixxel satellites in the Firefly series.[4]
Pricing not publicly listed by operator
Supply chain position
- [1]Six Months in Orbit: Firefly Status Check, Pixxeloperator press2026-05-25
- [2]MegaPixxel spacecraft manufacturing facility launch, Pixxeloperator press2026-05-25
- [3]Dawn Aerospace heritage and missionscommunity2026-05-25
- [4]Firefly 1 to 6, Gunter Space Pagecommunity2026-05-25
How to cite this page
Plain text
Pixxel Firefly Bus. EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V., last reviewed 2026-05-25. https://eo-atlas.org/products/bus/pixxel-firefly-bus (CC BY 4.0)
BibTeX
@misc{eoatlas:products:bus:pixxel-firefly-bus,
title = {Pixxel Firefly Bus},
author = {{EO-Atlas}},
publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
year = {2026},
note = {Last reviewed 2026-05-25. CC BY 4.0},
url = {https://eo-atlas.org/products/bus/pixxel-firefly-bus}
}