Aerofly LLC

About Aerofly LLC

Aerofly LLC is an aerospace and defense technology company specializing in developing solutions for lunar logistics, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and engineering services. Founded in May 2021 and headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, the company emerged from research conducted at South Dakota State University (SDSU). The company's genesis can be traced back to a 2019 NASA research grant awarded to then-SDSU professors Marco Ciarcia and Todd Letcher to develop drones capable of carrying humans. This initial work on drones, particularly for the agricultural sector, evolved after Gordon Niva, an SDSU alumnus with extensive aerospace experience, joined as CEO. The company has since pivoted to focus significantly on space technology, spurred by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Aerofly now operates across three main divisions: Space Technology, eVTOL & UAS, and Engineering Services. The Space Technology division is developing systems for extraterrestrial autonomous vehicles, including the NASA-funded Rego-LIFT, a modular conveyor system for moving lunar regolith, and VADER, a project focused on water extraction from icy lunar soil. The Rego-LIFT program, a NASA SBIR Phase II project, aims to provide the logistical backbone for a sustainable lunar presence and is being developed in partnership with Blue Origin subsidiary Honeybee Robotics and SDSU. In its eVTOL & UAS division, Aerofly designs and produces heavy-lift rotorcraft and NDAA-compliant unmanned aircraft for defense, commercial, and industrial clients. This work builds on the company's foundational expertise in developing drones for applications like crop spraying and payload delivery. The Engineering Services division offers subcontracted expertise to external programs, providing services such as physics-based digital twins, high-fidelity simulation and visualization, vacuum chamber testing, and red-team proposal reviews. This includes creating detailed "as-built" 3D models of industrial facilities from point-cloud data. The company is a privately held small business with federal-ready credentials, including a CAGE code and FAA Part 107 license.