Ukrainian forced out of Firefly Aerospace

Ukrainian rocketeer Max Polyakov is selling his
company’s stake in Firefly Aerospace, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 29. The sale
is reportedly due to pressure from the U.S. government and aerospace industry
competitors. Polyakov’s ownership had raised concerns about technology leaking
to Ukraine and possibly Russia. Firefly’s U.S. government contracts as well as
launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California were put on ice until
the matter was solved. Polyakov’s Noosphere Ventures received a letter from the
Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. with a request that the company
sell its roughly 50% stake in Firefly Aerospace.

James Hydzik: The current
moves by the U.S. government are not a single incident. The cry now is that a
Russian invasion could lead to U.S technology falling into the Kremlin’s hands.
However, Noosphere’s purchase of Firefly generated a lot of controversy
regarding technology transfers, especially as it incorporated rocket engine
design teams from Dnipro, Ukraine. As such, technology transfers went only from
Ukraine to the U.S.

The successful launch and four minutes of flight of
Firefly’s Alpha 1 rocket from Vandenberg in September might have prompted the
government’s move. However, given the September launch, Polyakov now has a track
record that should enable him to move from strength to strength. Noosphere has
other projects, especially in the UK, and Polyakov wrote “Scotland the brave!”
in a LinkedIn post regarding the changes. The UK government might be pressured
by the U.S. to restrict his moves as well. However, with Britain eager to
establish itself as a next-generation space launch hub to complement its
current and extensive small-sat industry, Washington might find more resistance
than expected.