Firefly Aerospace CEO Bill Weber. Photo: Buchanan Edwards

Firefly Aerospace has named Bill Weber as its new CEO after Tom Markusic stepped away from the role in June. Web was previously CEO of cyber and geospatial satellite firm KeyW Corporation, which was sold to Jacobs Engineering Group during his tenure. 

This leadership transition comes after private equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI) acquired a “significant stake” in the company from Noosphere Venture Partners in February. AE Industrial Partners is also an investor in Redwire Corp. and Sierra Space.

“Bill is a proven leader with an impressive record of helping companies successfully navigate change, making him the clear choice to lead Firefly during this transitional growth period,” said Peter Schumacher, partner at AE Industrial Partners. “His deep experience and strong relationships across many areas of the A&D landscape will be invaluable as Firefly transitions to full-rate production across its portfolio of products.” 

Weber recently founded First Light Acquisition Group, a company focused on investing in technology solutions with mission-critical applications. He also previously served as COO of XLA, a privately-held national security and diplomacy technology firm. Weber is also a veteran U.S. Army Officer and an Airborne Ranger.

Firefly is preparing for the second launch of its Alpha rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, set for September 11. 

The company recently won a deal to develop the first stage for Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and “a new medium-lift launch vehicle to serve commercial, civil and national security space launch markets.” The companies have not shared any other details about the new launch vehicle. The deal will supply American-built engines for Antares to replace the Russian-made RD-181 engines.