Firefly Aerospace Inc. (FLY) shares powered higher Wednesday after the company revealed a commercial payload deal with Volta Space Technologies. The agreement puts Volta's wireless power receiver on Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 2 lander, which is heading to the far side of the Moon.

Testing Power in Space

Here's what makes this interesting: Volta is building something called LightGrid, essentially a lunar power network that collects solar energy through satellites orbiting the Moon and beams it down to the surface using lasers. Think of it as a cosmic charging station for rovers, landers, and whatever else ends up working on the Moon.

The payload Firefly is carrying, called LightPort, will validate whether this laser-receiver technology actually works in practice. Beyond just testing the receiver, the mission will explore how to integrate Volta's system into centralized power setups on the lunar surface. The goal is enabling local power distribution between equipment and creating backup power options as more infrastructure arrives on the Moon.

A Crowded Mission

Blue Ghost Mission 2 is shaping up to be quite the international affair. The lander now carries six payloads from five countries, including NASA's LuSEE-Night radio telescope and User Terminal, the European Space Agency's Lunar Pathfinder satellite, the UAE's Rashid Rover 2, and Fleet Space Technologies' SPIDER payload.

The mission also marks the debut of Firefly's Ocula lunar imaging service through its Elytra Dark vehicle. This spacecraft will hang out in lunar orbit for over five years, capturing ultraviolet and visible-spectrum images to help identify minerals, map landing sites, and monitor cislunar space activity.

Firefly said qualification testing for the fully stacked Blue Ghost and Elytra spacecraft is currently underway, with most payloads already accepted and tested at the company's spacecraft facility.

Stock Movement: Firefly Aerospace shares traded 6.99% higher at $20.83 Wednesday.