Launch
Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Alpha | Stairway to Seven
- Mission
- rocket
- Pad
- Agency
Mission
Stairway to Seven
Test Flight
Low Earth Orbit
Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 will be 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 will be 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.
Status
To Be Confirmed
Awaiting official confirmation - current date is known with some certainty.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 2W
USA
SLC-2W was originally used for Delta, Thor-Agena and Delta II launches. After the last Delta II flight in 2018, SLC-2W was repurposed to launch Firefly Alpha rockets.
Latitude: 34.7556
longitude: -120.6224
Map
Location
America/Los_Angeles
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Vandenberg Space Force Base is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.
860
33
Location Image
Rocket
Firefly Alpha
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.
Details
Min stage: 2
Max stage: 2m
Length: 29.6m
Diameter: 1.82
First Flight: Sept. 3, 2021
Total launch count: 6
Successful launches: 3
Failed launches: 3
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capacity: 1000kg
Launch cost: US$15000000
Agency
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.
Details
CEO: Peter Schumacher
2014
Total launch count: 6
Successful launches: 3
Failed launches: 3
Pending launches: 4
