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Dashboards to the moon: Grafana’s role in Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission operations

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About this session

When it comes to spacecraft operations, there’s no room for error — having clear and insightful real-time data in front of you makes a real difference when you have to make critical decisions. On March 2, 2025, Firefly Aerospace became the first commercial company to complete a fully successful moon landing. Join Jesus Charles, Blue Ghost Mission 1 Flight Director, for an inside look at the mission, the operations team, and the role Grafana played in monitoring spacecraft systems from low Earth orbit all the way to the moon’s surface. Learn how the team rapidly built reliable dashboards to track key telemetry in real time to help bring Firefly’s lunar ambitions to life.

Speakers

Jesus Charles

Jesus Charles

Blue Ghost Mission 1 Flight Director  •  Firefly Aerospace
Jesus Charles served as the Descent Flight Director for Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, which successfully landed on the moon on March 2, 2025. Holding a degree in Aerospace Engineering, Jesus began his career designing structural hardware to support external payloads on the International Space Station, later transitioning into payload integration and spacecraft operations. At Firefly, he has contributed to multiple programs, including Alpha and Elytra, and has been part of the Blue Ghost team since the proposal phase that led to Mission 1. He now focuses on evolving and optimizing systems and processes to support future missions across the Elytra and Blue Ghost platforms. His areas of expertise include ground system architecture, cross-disciplinary systems coordination, and telemetry visualization with tools like Grafana. Originally from the U.S.-Mexico border, Jesus is passionate about mentorship, bilingual outreach, and creating opportunities for the next generation of space professionals.