Firefly Alpha

Firefly Alpha lifting off the pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base on September 2, 2021
Manufacturer	Firefly Aerospace
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$15–17.6 million[1]
Size
Height	29 m (95 ft)
Diameter	1.82 m (6 ft)
Mass	54,000 kg (119,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload toLEO
Mass	1,030 kg (2,270 lb)[2]
Payload toSSO
Altitude	500 km (310 mi)
Mass	630 kg (1,390 lb)
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Vandenberg,SLC‑2W[3][4] Wallops,LP-0A (planned)[5] Cape Canaveral,SLC-20 (planned)[6] Esrange, LC-3C (planned)[7]
Total launches	6
Success(es)	2
Failure	2
Partial failure	2
First flight	3 September 2021 (2021-09-03)[8]
Last flight	29 April 2025
First stage
Powered by	4 ×Reaver
Maximum thrust	736.1 kN (165,500 lbf)
Specific impulse	295.6 s (2.899 km/s)
Propellant	RP-1 /LOX
Second stage
Powered by	1 ×Lightning
Maximum thrust	70.1 kN (15,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	322 s (3.16 km/s)
Propellant	RP-1 /LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is atwo-stage orbitalexpendablesmall lift launch vehicle developed by the American companyFirefly Aerospace tocompete in the commercialsmall satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle andrideshare customers.^[9]

The first launch attempt was on 3 September 2021, but the vehicle did not reach orbit when one of thefirst stageengines failed during ascent.^[10] A second orbital test flight took place on 1 October 2022 and successfully reached orbit.^[11] Alpha deployed 7 satellites. However, due to the lower-than-intended deployment orbit, most of the satellites re-entered before reaching their intended design life a week after launch.^{[12][13][14][15]} The first fully successful launch of Alpha took place on 15 September 2023.

The initial 2014-vintage design of Alpha wastwo-stage-to-orbit vehicle with the first stage powered by an FRE-2methalox engine, which consisted of twelve nozzles arranged in anaerospike configuration.^[16] The engine usedmethane andliquid oxygen aspropellants, and completed a full-duration combustor test in September 2016.^[17] The second stage was to be propelled by the FRE-1 engine^{[clarification needed]}, which was to use a conventionalbell nozzle. This version of Alpha was intended to carry 400 kg to low Earth orbit.^[18][19]

In 2015, NASA'sLaunch Services Program awarded Firefly Space Systems, the predecessor to Firefly Aerospace, a US$5.5 million Venture Class Launch Services contract to incentivize the development of Alpha, as part of a program to enable easier space access for the small satellite market.^{[20][21][clarification needed]}

After the March 2017 bankruptcy ofFirefly Space Systems^[22] and corporate reorganization to become Firefly Aerospace with new owners andcapital,^[6] the Alpha launch vehicle was redesigned to a much larger rocket, over twice as much capacity as the Alpha design of 2014. The version 2 Alpha vehicle still utilizes two stages to orbit, but now both are 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in diameter and useRP-1/LOX propellants.^[2] The main body of the rocket is constructed using a lightweightcarbon composite material.^[4]

In March 2018, Firefly said that thedevelopment of Alpha was expected to cost approximately US$100 million.^[23]

In 2024, Firefly Aerospace announced plans to use a Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) to integrate payloads atWallops Island,Virginia.^[4][24]

The first test launch and Maiden flight of Firefly Alpha occurred on 3 September 2021 at 01:59UTC,^[8][25] from a leased pad atVandenberg Space Force Base in California, and was to fly southwest over the Pacific Ocean.^[26] Due to an engine failure caused by a fuel valve electrical connector shearing approximately 15 seconds after the launch, the rocket lost control attransonic speeds approximately two and a half minutes after launch that resulted in manual activation of theflight termination system and loss of the vehicle.^[10][27][28]The launch vehicle had onboard various payloads as part of Firefly's DREAM mission^[29]—including Benchmark Space BSS1, Firefly Capsule 1, and PICOBUS^[30] (intending to deploy sixPocketQubes), Hiapo, Spinnaker3, and TIS Serenity^[31][32]—which were destroyed.

On 29 September 2025, the flight vehicle first stage planned for Alpha Flight 7 was destroyed in a ground test at the Firefly test facility in Briggs, Texas. The company has not yet completed an evaluation of how the test explosion may affect future launch cadence.^[33]

The Alphafirst stage is powered by fourReaverLOX /RP-1tap-off cycle engines,^[34] delivering 736 kN (165,000 lb_f) of thrust. The second stage is powered by oneLightning LOX / RP-1 engine, delivering 70.1 kN (15,800 lb_f) of thrust with aspecific impulse (I_sp) of 322 seconds.^[2] Lightning 1 was test-run for nearly 5 minutes on 15 March 2018 during a long duration test fire on Firefly's Test Stand 1 inBriggs, Texas.^[23][35]

The Alpha airframe uses allcarbon-fibercomposite material in its construction. Using carbon-fiber makes the rocket more fuel efficient because the use of denser materials like titanium and aluminum would result in a heavier airframe, which would require more fuel to launch.^[23]

Alpha is designed to launch up to 1170 kg of payload to a 200 kmlow Earth orbit, or up to 745 kg payload to a 500 kmSun-synchronous orbit, suitable forCubeSats and othersmall payloads.^[2] Primary payloads can be integrated by themselves or with asecondary payload, with vehicle capacity for up to 6 CubeSats.^[9][4] This allows Firefly's customers to have a dedicated small-satellite launcher, reducing the issues of ridesharing payloads and secondary payloads. These smaller satellites can have an orbit that is not determined by a larger payload and can launch on their own schedule instead of waiting on the readiness of all other payloads.^[36]

Alpha is also intended to be a direct American competitor in the small satellite market to India'sPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), as the company believes that PSLV's ride-share capability threatens U.S. domestic launchers in this market.^[37]

Firefly Aerospace is leasingVandenberg padSLC-2W to support Firefly Alpha andEclipse launches; this launch pad formerly supportedDelta,Thor-Agena, andDelta II launch vehicles launches.^[3] Additionally, As of September 2024^[update] Firefly holds a lease atCape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 20 for low-inclination launches of Alpha in the future.^[6][38] Firefly is working withNorthrop Grumman to use LP-0A at theMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, and has plans for a launch site at theEsrange Space Center in Sweden.^[38] Launches from Virginia and Sweden are expected as soon as 2026.^[39]

• Rocket Lab Electron
• Vega – European Space Agency launch system
• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle – Indian expendable launch vehicle
• Small Satellite Launch Vehicle – Indian small-lift launch vehicle
• Small-lift launch vehicle

• Space launch vehicles of the United States
• Satellite launch anomalies
• Firefly Aerospace

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