Private space company Firefly Aerospace garnered plenty of attention earlier this year when its Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully touched down on the moon. Now it is preparing to become the third space IPO of the year.

The success of Firefly's Blue Ghost mission briefly lifted space stocks when the lander reached the lunar surface in March, underlining the attention focused on high-profile missions and their broader impact on U.S. space ambitions. Blue Ghost Mission 1, dubbed Ghost Riders in the Sky, is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative to deliver science and technology payloads to the moon.

In a filing Monday of the terms set for its initial public offering, Firefly said it plans to offer 16.2 million shares at a price range of $35 to $39 a share, to raise up to $631.8 million.

The Cedar Park, Texas-based company expects to have 140.5 million shares after it goes public. At the top end of its estimated price range, Firefly would have a market capitalization of about $5.5 billion.

Firefly's stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "FLY."

Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are among the lead underwriters of the IPO, as are Jefferies and Wells Fargo Securities.

The company lost $60.1 million on revenue of $55.86 million in the three months that ended March 25, compared with a loss of $52.8 million on revenue of $8.3 million in the same period a year ago.

After a dearth of space IPOs in recent years, there has been some activity in the sector in 2025. Karman Holdings Inc. (KRMN) went public in February, and Voyager Technologies Inc. (VOYG) went public last month. Meanwhile, the Renaissance IPO exchange-traded fund IPO has gained 6.5% this year, as the S&P 500 index SPX has tacked on 8.5%.

However, the companies' stocks have performed very differently since their respective IPOs. Karman shares have climbed 68.9% in 2025, while Voyager Technologies' stock has dropped 28.5%.

In the filing about its IPO, Firefly touted the duration of its Blue Ghost Mission 1.

"Historically, only five countries - the United States, China, Russia, Japan, and India - have achieved the feat of a lunar soft-landing, putting Firefly's capability in the realm of global superpowers," it said. "Blue Ghost Mission 1 carried 10 NASA payloads to the Moon for a total contract value of $102.1 million and completed all NASA missions for 14 days on the surface and five hours into the lunar night, while successfully meeting mission expectations."

Meanwhile, Intuitive Machines Inc. (LUNR), which is regarded as something of a darling among space stocks, has endured some difficult moon landings. In March the company ended its second moon mission after less than 24 hours on the lunar surface, when it confirmed that its Athena lander had toppled over.

In 2024, Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander made history when it became the first commercial lander to successfully touch down on the lunar surface. Odysseus fell onto its side but was able to communicate with flight controllers after landing, and that mission ended seven days after the lander reached the moon.