Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 is 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 is 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. This launch also delivered a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.
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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 DetailsLos Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Firefly Aerospace is preparing its next Alpha rocket mission, Flight 7 "Stairway to Seven", as a dedicated return-to-flight test from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Californi…
"You absolutely have to have a plan to compete with SpaceX on price."
After a brief grounding earlier this month following the Starlink Group 17-32 second stage deorbit… The post Launch Preview: Firefly to launch Alpha, SpaceX to launch three Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
Seven missions are on this week’s launch manifest, with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 dominating the schedule.… The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9 to launch five Starlink missions, Firefly to launch Alpha appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
Following a mishap in April of 2025, Firefly Aerospace is aiming to return its Alpha rocket to launch on the 28th of February.
14th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. 3rd flight of Starship V3 and the first Starship flight to deploy satellites (a group of S…
A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…
Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for "Electromagnetic environment probing".
A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Share-ride of 9 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.
Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…