Launches / Firefly Alpha

Past launch Failed

FLTA006 (Message in a Booster)

Firefly Alpha, flown by Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Alpha lifting off with the FLTA006 (Message in a Booster) mission
Image via The Space Devs.

This was Firefly Aerospace's first launch of 2025, and its sixth in all.

Counting every operator, it was the 93rd orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2025, and the first from Space Launch Complex 2W.

Launched
Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 1:37 p.m. UTC
Window
Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 1:37 to 2:29 p.m. UTC
Launch site
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Rocket
Firefly Alpha
Operator
Firefly Aerospace
Weather
90% favorable
Failure
Problem during stage separation and second stage ignition caused disintegration of the separated 1st stage and the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension on the 2nd stage, substantially reducing the engine’s thrust. 2nd stage reached 320 km in altitude but did not reach orbital velocity, eventually impacted the Pacific Ocean north of Antarctica.

Watch the webcast →

The mission

Sixth flight of the Firefly Alpha small satellite launcher, launching the demonstration mission for Lockheed Martin's new LM400 satellite bus, which will carry a communications payload. The satellite bus is customizable to support different missions, including remote sensing, communications, imagery and radar Earth observations. It can also support different kinds of orbits and launch configurations.

Type
Technology
Destination
Low Earth orbit

The rocket

Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle developed by the American aerospace company Firefly Aerospace to cover the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and ride share customers.

Height
29.6 m
Built by
Firefly Aerospace
First flew
September 3, 2021
Lifts to low Earth orbit
1,000 kg
View 4 specifications Show less
Diameter
1.8 m
Mass at liftoff
54 t
Thrust at liftoff
736 kN
Stages
2

7 flights, 4 of them successful.

fireflyspace.com → Wikipedia →

The operator

Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Austin, Texas, that develops small and medium-sized launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit.

Sector
Commercial
Based in
USA
Founded
2014
Run by
Peter Schumacher, CEO

7 launches so far, 4 of them successful.

firefly.com → Wikipedia →

The launch site

It went up from Space Launch Complex 2W at Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.

See the pad on a map →

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