Firefly Aerospace Inc. launched the first rocket into orbit, accelerating efforts to become a trusted partner of NASA.
Firefly Aerospace Inc. launched the first rocket into orbit, attacked space startup’s efforts to become a trusted partner for NASA.
Alpha rocket takes off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California early Saturday and successfully put in three small payloads The earth orbit, including one for the US space agency. A previous launch attempt failed in September 2021 when the first Alpha rocket veered off course and had to explode shortly after takeoff.
The launch follows years of engineering work, litigation, and financial battles for Cedar Park, Texas-based Firefly, one of several companies selected by NASA to deliver scientific payloads to the moon such as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
The Alpha is designed to carry about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) of cargo to low-earth orbit and nearly 1,400 pounds to a 500-kilometer solar synchronous orbit. That puts it in the market between the large rockets of SpaceX and Elon Musk’s United Launch Alliance, and the smaller payload rockets built by several industry players, including Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab USA Inc.
Firefly says it plans to launch Alpha twice per month for commercial customers, at a fee of $15 million per flight. The company scrapped an earlier launch attempt on Sunday due to a drop in helium pressure.
Until recently, Firefly was partly owned by Ukrainian tech entrepreneur Max Polyakov. In November, WE The government asked Polyakov to sell his stake in the company due to national security concerns. Polyakov agreed and sold his stake in Firefly in February to AE Industrial Partners.
