Firefly Aerospace launches new Alpha rocket into orbit

The new aerospace company entered orbit with its second rocket launch and deployed several small satellites on Saturday.

Firefly Aerospace Company Rocket alpha took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in the early morning darkness and arced over the Pacific Ocean.

“100% mission success,” Firefly later tweeted.

A day earlier, the launch attempt ended abruptly when the countdown reached zero. The first stage engines ignited, but the rocket automatically aborted takeoff.

The rocket’s payload included several small satellites intended for various technological experiments and demonstrations, as well as for educational purposes.

The mission, named “To The Black”, was the company’s second demonstration flight to market small satellite launch vehicles.

The first Alpha was launched from Vandenberg on September 2, 2021, but did not enter orbit.

One of the four first-stage engines shut down prematurely, but the rocket continued on three engines into the supersonic region, where it spun out of control.

The missile was then deliberately destroyed by an explosive termination system.

Firefly Aerospace said the premature shutdown was due to an electrical problem, but otherwise the rocket performed well and yielded useful data in nearly 2 1/2 minutes of flight.

Alpha is designed to carry cargo weighing up to 2,579 pounds (1,170 kilograms) to low Earth orbit.

Other emerging competitors in the small rocket market include Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit, both headquartered in Long Beach, California.

Firefly Aerospace, based in Cedar Park, Texas, also plans a bigger one rocketa space operations vehicle and a lander to carry NASA and commercial cargo to the lunar surface.

© 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, copied or distributed without permission.