Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Fly the Lightning

Alpha FLTA004 Fly the Lightning is a dedicated commercial launch for Lockheed Martin in support of a national security technology demonstration.

FLTA004 (Fly the Lightning)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Technology

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 2W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Probability: 60%

Firefly’s Alpha rocket will launch Lockheed Martin’s new wideband Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) technology integrated on a Terran Orbital Nebula satellite bus. Developed within Lockheed Martin Space’s Ignite organization using a proprietary design, the ESA payload will demonstrate faster on-orbit sensor calibration to deliver rapid capabilities to U.S. warfighters.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 23, 2023, 5:48 a.m.

Updated launch status following confirmation of stage 2 2nd burn failure.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 5:32 p.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 4:45 p.m.

Updated T-0.


LL2 • Dec. 22, 2023, 4:28 p.m.

Livestream has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 3:59 p.m.

Weather 40% GO.


Firefly Alpha

Family:
Configuration:

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.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    29.6 m
  • Diameter
    1.82 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    2.21 m
  • Launch Mass
    54.0 T
  • Thrust
    736.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Firefly Alpha
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Firefly Alpha
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $15000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    630.0 kg

Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace

(FA)

CEO: Peter Schumacher Founded: 2014 Successes: 4 Failures: 3 Pending: 4

Agency Type:

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.

INFO WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

Software problem blamed for Firefly Alpha mishap

A software glitch prevented the upper stage of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket from completing a second burn during a December launch, stranding its payload in a low orbit.

SpaceNews

Lockheed Martin’s misplaced satellite to fall back to Earth next month

Despite a much shortened mission, the company said it successfully accomplished many of the objectives of the technology demonstration..

SpaceNews

Firefly Alpha upper stage malfunction puts payload into wrong orbit

A problem with the upper stage of a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket placed a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration satellite into the wrong orbit on a Dec. 22 launch.

Space Scout

Firefly Alpha Flight 004 Ends in Anomaly

After several delays due to uncooperative weather, Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle has flown for the fourth time as part of the Fly the Lightning mission. Firefly was able to find a break in the weather on Friday morning, and the vehicle li…

NASASpaceflight

Firefly suffers second stage anomaly on “Fly the Lightning” mission

Just on the heels of its success in integrating and launching a payload to orbit within 27 hours for the Space Force, Firefly Aerospace flew again — this time with a dedicated flight for Lockheed Martin. The Alpha FLTA004 mission lifted of…

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 2W


Vega-C
Success
2 days, 8 hours ago
Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to investigate the interaction between Earth’s protective shield …


Long March 8
Success
3 days, 21 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #9
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 14 hours ago
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-34
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

34th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commer…


Kinetica 1
Success
6 days, 7 hours ago
5 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 5 satellites to sun-synchronous orbit: * Taijing-3-05A/B * Tianyi-50 * Tianyan-27 * Jilin-1 HR-03D-55


Zhuque-2E Block 2
Success
1 week ago
Mass Simulator
Launch Area 96A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2.8 tonnes Mass Simulator launched to a 900 km polar orbit on a test flight proving further upgrades to the ZQ-2E, including a longer 1st stage and e…


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #8
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
NROL-172
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Thirteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Offi…


Long March 7
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Tianzhou-10
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Ninth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 17-29
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
CAS500-2 & Others
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Ride-share of 45 satellites including: * CAS500-2 (KASA, South Korea) The South Korean CAS500-1 and -2 satellites will image the Earth in pan-chr…