Firefly Aerospace's first stage explodes before satellite's deployment
This was the latest in Alpha rocket failures for the Texas-based private company. It has two successes, two failures and two partial failures since its debut in September 2021.
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A Firefly Aerospace rocket was on the launch pad at Vandenburg Space Force. It lifted off Tuesday morning but the payload didn't go into orbit. (Photo Credit: Firefly Aerospace)
April 30 (UPI) -- A Firefly Aerospace rocket launched from California crashed into the Pacific Ocean north of Antarctica, failing to place into low-Earth orbit a satellite for Lockheed Martin.
This was the latest in Alpha rocket failures for the Texas-based private company. It has two successes, two failures and two partial failures since its debut in September 2021.
The mission was called "Mission in a Booster."
On a foggy morning, the two-stage, 96.7-foot Alpha lifed off from Vandenburg Space Force's SLC-2W at 6:37 a.m. PDT Tuesday and reached 198.8 miles in space.
After separating from the lower stage, the upper stage engine kept firing for more than six minutes, Ars Technica reported. After the stage shut down, Firefly announced that the rocket reached orbit.
Thirteen minutes into the mission, the rocket was programmed to release its single payload
Firefly ended its live webcast at this point.
Alpha encountered a problem after its two stages separated. The nozzle extracted from the stage's single Lightning engine.
"Initial indications showed Alpha's upper stage reached 320 km in altitude," the private company posted on X 90 minutes after liftoff. However, upon further assessment, the team learned the upper stage did not reach orbital velocity, and the stage and payload have now safely impacted the Pacific Ocean in a cleared zone north of Antarctica."
Firefly Aeospace is investigating with Lockheed Martin, Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The launch was one day later than scheduled because of "an issue due to an issue with ground support equipment."
The mission originally was scheduled for mid-March but pushed back due to a lack of range availability at its launch site at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
"Firefly recognizes the hard work that went into payload development and would like to thank our mission partners at Lockheed Martin for their continued support," the company said in a statement. "The team is working closely with our customers and the FAA to conduct an investigation and determine root cause of the anomaly."
The mission carried Lockheed Martin's LM 400 tech demo. It was designed to test its capabilities in orbit with SmartSat software.
Firefly's rocket is designed to provide low-cost rides for mid-sized satellites, carrying payloads up to 2,866 pounds at $15 million per launch.
Alpha FLTA006 was the second mission Firefly launched for Lockheed Martin and the first of 25 planned missions over the next five years.
In September 2021, one of Alpha's four first-stage Reaver engines shut down unexpectedly about 15 seconds after liftoff.
Then in October 2022, Alpha's inaugural mission was considered a success even though the rocket delivered two satellites to a lower orbit than planned
In September 2023, Alpha had its first success as its payload went into orbit for Space Systems Command for the U.S. government.
In December 2023, Alpha placed a Lockheed Martin satellite in the wrong orbit after it experienced an anomaly with its second stage.
In July 2024, Alpha successfully launched eight CubeSats for NASA.
The next Firerfly Aerospace flight for Lockheed is scheduled in the second quarter of 2025.
Alpha is manufactured and tested at Firefly's Texas Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas, which is 50 miles north of Austin.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost completed its successful commercial moon landing on March 2. Blue Ghost carried instruments for 10 NASA-based scientific research projects.
It was launched Jan. 15 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Blue Ghost traveled more than 2.8 million miles.
Ultimately, Firefly plans to launch Alpha rockets from Florida.
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