By Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Northrop Grumman-backed Firefly Aerospace priced its upsized U.S. initial public offering at $45 per share on Wednesday, raising $868.3 million, and indicating strong demand for the buzzy space technology startup that put a lander on the moon.

Firefly Aerospace has said it expects to price shares in its upcoming IPO $35 to $39 a piece, a deal that would value the rocket maker at about $5.5 billion.

Firefly Aerospace unveiled terms of a planned initial public offering that could give the space and defense technology company a market capitalization topping $5.5 billion.