Past launch
Launched successfully
Stairway to Seven
Firefly Alpha, flown by Firefly Aerospace
Launches / Firefly Alpha
Firefly Alpha, flown by Firefly Aerospace
This was Firefly Aerospace's first launch of 2026, and its seventh in all.
Counting every operator, it was the 50th orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2026, and the first from Space Launch Complex 2W.
Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 is a test flight and return-To-Flight for the launch vehicle after its April 2025 launch failure. It will test and validate key systems ahead of Firefly’s Block II configuration upgrade on Flight 8 that’s designed to enhance reliability and manufacturability across the vehicle. Flight 7 is the last flown in Alpha’s current configuration and will test multiple Block II subsystems, including the in-house avionics and thermal improvements, to gain flight heritage and validate lessons learned ahead of the full configuration upgrade on Flight 8. This launch also delivered a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.
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.
7 flights, 4 of them successful.
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.
7 launches so far, 4 of them successful.
It went up from Space Launch Complex 2W at Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
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