The Firefly Aerospace sixth Alpha rocket experienced in-flight troubles more than 2 minutes after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base Tuesday morning causing the payload to plummet into the Pacific Ocean instead of reaching orbit.
The Texas-based firm’s small rocket blasted off at 6:37 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-2 as a stubborn marine layer blanketed the vehicle. The liftoff came after two days of delay due to weather and glitchy ground support equipment.
Firefly initially said the mission reached orbit and the second-stage engine shut off as planned ahead of the expected payload deployment, but the firm later backed off.
Alpha carried the Lockheed Martin Corp. LM 400, a technology demonstrator as the firm developed multi-mission satellite bus, or frame, that can be equipped with various instruments to meet customers’ needs.
Veteran rocket launch spectators spotted unusual activity during Alpha’s first-stage separation and the remainder of the flight before the video ended which was expected due to a planned communications blackout.
The second-stage engine’s nozzle, noticeable for its red-hot appearance, couldn’t be seen on video prompting suspicions.
Firefly later confirmed spectators’ suspicions of a mishap.
“Following a nominal liftoff of Firefly’s Alpha rocket, there was a mishap during first-stage separation for the FLTA006 mission that impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle, putting the vehicle in a lower than planned orbit,” Firefly representatives said.
“We are working with our Lockheed Martin customer, the Space Force, and FAA to conduct a thorough investigation and determine the root cause.”
After reviewing data, Firefly officials provided another update late Tuesday morning and confirmed Alpha’s liftoff and first-stage flight occurred as expected, reaching the target separation velocity.
“The rocket then experienced a mishap between stage separation and second-stage ignition that led to the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension, substantially reducing the engine’s thrust,” Firefly’s statement said.
The mishap doomed the LM 400 mission, although initial indications showed the upper stage reach an altitude of 199 miles.
“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 officials said an update late Tuesday morning.
Federal Aviation Administration representatives confirmed they were aware an anomaly occurred.
“No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is requiring Firefly to conduct a mishap investigation,” FAA officials said in a statement provided to Noozhawk.
The mishap investigation “is designed to enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again,” according to the FAA.
This was Firefly’s second mission for Lockheed Martin and the first under a multi-launch agreement between the rocket builder and satellite manufacturer. That pact includes up to 25 missions over the next five years.
“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,” Firefly said in late-morning update.
Firefly developed the Alpha rocket to deliver small satellites into space.
The Alpha rocket’s maiden launch in September 2021 ended dramatically seconds after blasting off from Vandenberg.
The firm’s manifest includes two additional Alpha rocket launches from Vandenberg in 2025.
The Firefly launch provided an exclamation point to a busy April for missions from Vandenberg where seven launches involved three different firms’ rockets.
