Firefly’s Alpha Rocket Achieves Fourth Consecutive Orbit Success

Firefly Aerospace initiated its Alpha rocket’s journey to orbit earlier today, ferrying a payload from Lockheed Martin into space. However, public updates on the successful deployment of the satellite to its intended orbit are yet to surface, raising concerns regarding a probable issue with the rocket’s second stage.

This milestone marks the fourth flight of Firefly’s Alpha rocket, commencing from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:32 AM local time. Termed “Fly the Lightning,” this mission was a commercial venture for Lockheed Martin, transporting the Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) technology demonstrator to low Earth orbit.

Following the initial launch, Firefly tweeted plans to relight Alpha’s second-stage engine at approximately 9:40 AM local time, aiming to circularize the orbit within 40 minutes, subsequently facilitating the deployment of the Lockheed Martin payload. However, even four hours later, the company has not provided an update on the status of the payload deployment.

The ESA technology onboard represents an electronically steerable antenna array, designed by Lockheed Martin to streamline sensor calibration significantly. Unlike traditional on-orbit sensors, which may require months for calibration and activation, Lockheed claims its ESA design can accomplish this process in a fraction of the time.

Integrated onto a satellite bus constructed by Terran Orbital (of which Lockheed owns nearly 7% of outstanding shares), the ESA demonstrator showcases Lockheed’s innovative approach to sensor technology.

While the primary mission objective revolves around deploying the payload, Firefly emphasizes its commitment to demonstrating rapid launch capabilities to the Space Force. The company’s mission team is closely monitoring the total hours from payload receipt to launch readiness, aiming to underscore its ability to deliver expedited launch services.

Notably, rapid launch capabilities hold significant importance for the Space Force, with Firefly already setting a record for launch readiness during the previous Alpha mission. Demonstrating their agility, Firefly completed final launch preparations, payload encapsulation, and rocket mating within a mere 24 hours for that mission.