Firefly Alpha

Active

Firefly Aerospace (FA)

Sept. 3, 2021

Description

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.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    29.0 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

Commercial
CEO: Peter Schumacher
FA 2014

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.

Upcoming Spaceflights


Firefly Alpha | FLTA006 (Lockheed Martin Demo 1)

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD March, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

First of up to 25 launches of Low Earth Orbit technology demonstration satellites to be built and operated by Lockheed Martin. Launch operation will also again demonstrate responsive space pre-launch operation capabilities.

Low Earth Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | LM400 Demo

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD June, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

Demonstration mission for Lockheed Martin new LM400 satellite bus, which will carry a communications payload. The satellite bus is customizable to support different missions, including remote sensing, communications, imagery and radar Earth observations. It can also support different kinds of orbits and launch configurations.

Low Earth Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | Jackal AOV

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

True Anomaly’s Jackal Autonomous Orbital Vehicle (AOV) will support U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s VICTUS HAZE Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission with operations in orbit proximity with another spacecraft built by Rocket Lab National Security. The spacecraft, once completed, will remain on call until the U.S. Space Force provides the notice to launch. The Firefly team will then have 24 hours to transport the payload fairing to the pad, mate the fairing to the Alpha rocket, fuel the rocket, and launch within the first available window.

Low Earth Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | QuickSounder

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD February, 2026
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

QuickSounder is the first satellite mission of the Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which aims to replace the current Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of polar orbit weather satellites. This pathfinder mission will demonstrate NOAA's ability to launch a small satellite within 3 years, flying a refurbished Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument to polar orbit.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | FLTA005 (Noise of Summer)

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
July 4, 2024, 4:04 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Fifth flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying eight cubesats for NASA's ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) mission.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | FLTA004 Fly the Lightning

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Dec. 22, 2023, 5:32 p.m.
Status: Launch was a Partial Failure
Mission:

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.

Low Earth Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | FLTA003 (VICTUS NOX)

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Sept. 15, 2023, 2:28 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Third flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying a payload for the US Department of Defense.

Low Earth Orbit
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Firefly Alpha | FLTA002 (To The Black)

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Oct. 1, 2022, 7:01 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Second test flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher developed by Firefly Aerospace.

Low Earth Orbit #ToTheBlack
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Firefly Alpha | FLTA001 (Maiden Flight)

Firefly Aerospace | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Sept. 3, 2021, 1:59 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

First flight of the new Firefly Alpha small sat launcher developed by Firefly Aerospace. It will carry Firefly’s DREAM (Dedicated Research & Education Accelerator Mission), which includes various payloads like cubesats, personal items, pictures, DNA samples and more to inspire young people to pursue STEM education.

Low Earth Orbit
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Long March 12
Success
2 days, 12 hours ago
Maiden Flight
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

First launch of the Long March 12 launch vehicle and the first launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. 2 satellites are on board: …


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 19 hours ago
NROL-126
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fifth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-65
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

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


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Success
3 days, 5 hours ago
Kondor-FKA No.2
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

The Kondor-FKA is a small civilian radar Earth observation satellite designed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a civilian counterpart to the Kondor-E sate…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-76
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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