Space upstart Firefly raises $868 million in its IPO

By the numbers: Firefly priced 19.3 million shares at $45, both of which were above initial plans.

• Private equity firm AE Industrial Partners didn't sell any shares and has a 41.8% post-IPO position.
• Firefly last week was awarded a $177 million NASA contract to deliver payloads to the Moon's south pole in 2029.

Flashback: Firefly co-founder Max Polyakov was forced to dump his shares in the company by the U.S. government, which suspected him of being a Russian spy, but later seemed to admit it was a mistake. His loss became AE's gain.

The bottom line: "The Texas-based space firm becomes the most recent test case of whether a launch company can maintain a sustainable business where other space companies have failed." — Bloomberg