Stairway to Seven

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 2W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

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.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 4, 2026, 6:42 p.m.

NET February 14 UTC, to be confirmed.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 12, 2025, 9:23 p.m.

Added launch.


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: 3 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

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 2W


Long March 2C
Success
5 days, 1 hour ago
AlSat 3B
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Earth observation satellite built by China's CAST for the Algerian Space Agency.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-101
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
6 days, 4 hours ago
Bridging The Swarm (NeonSat-1A)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The NeonSat-1A, carrying a high-resolution optical camera, is designed to test the constellation capabilities of the South Korean government's Earth …


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 11 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-19
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
GPS III SV09
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Ninth of ten GPS III missions.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 17-20
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


New Shepard
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
NS-38
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-38 is the 17th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 38th in the New Shepard program's history.


Electron
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
The Cosmos Will See You Now (Open Cosmos Constellation Launch 1)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

First 2 satellites (named MR-1 and MR-2) of UK-based Open Cosmos' secure LEO broadband constellation designed to provide independent and resilient co…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Starlink Group 17-30
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 12
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 19
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…