Firefly Aerospace launched its two-stage Alpha rocket from California early Tuesday, but something went wrong about two-and-a-half minutes into the flight, rendering the rocket unable to deploy an experimental satellite into orbit for Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n
The Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base about 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles at 6:37 am PDT (9:37 am EDT; 13:37 UTC), one day after Firefly called off a launch attempt due to a technical problem with ground support equipment.<\/p>\n
Everything appeared to go well with the rocket\u2019s first-stage booster, powered by four kerosene-fueled Reaver engines, as the launcher ascended through fog and arced on a southerly trajectory over the Pacific Ocean. The booster stage jettisoned from Alpha\u2019s upper stage two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, and that\u2019s when things went awry.<\/p>\n
A bright cloud of white vapor appeared high in the sky, indicating an explosion, or something close to it. A moment later, the upper stage\u2019s single Lightning engine ignited for a six-minute burn to accelerate into orbit.<\/p>\n
A ground-based infrared camera caught a glimpse of debris in the wake of the upper stage, and then Firefly\u2019s live video stream switched to a camera onboard the rocket. The rear-facing view showed the Lightning engine stripped of its exhaust nozzle but still firing. Shards of debris were visible behind the rocket, but the video did not show any sign of the discarded first stage booster, which was expected to fall into the Pacific south of Vandenberg.<\/p>\n
The upper stage engine kept firing for more than six minutes, when it shut down and Firefly announced that the rocket reached orbit. The rocket was programmed to release its single payload, a small technology demonstration satellite built by Lockheed Martin, approximately 13 minutes into the mission. Firefly ended its live webcast of the launch before confirming separation of the satellite.<\/p>\n
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A short time later, Firefly released a statement acknowledging a \u201cmishap during first stage separation\u2026 that impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle.\u201d As a result, the rocket achieved an orbit lower than its target altitude, Firefly said. The privately held Texas-based launch company amended its statement later Tuesday morning to remove the clause about the lower-than-planned orbit.<\/p>\n
Another update from Firefly early Tuesday afternoon confirmed the launch failed. The company said the rocket \u201cexperienced a mishap between stage separation and second stage ignition that led to the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension, substantially reducing the engine\u2019s thrust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The launcher reached an altitude of nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) but did not reach orbital velocity, according to Firefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stage and payload have now safely impacted the Pacific Ocean in a cleared zone north of Antarctica,\u201d Firefly said. \u201cFirefly recognizes the hard work that went into payload development and would like to thank our mission partners at Lockheed Martin for their continued support. The team is working closely with our customers and the FAA to conduct an investigation and determine root cause of the anomaly.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Firefly\u2019s live video of the launch lacked a clear, stable view of first-stage separation, the appearance of white vapor is a sign that the rocket was likely emitting propellant. It wasn\u2019t immediately obvious whether the first stage recontacted the upper stage after separation or if the booster exploded and harmed the upper stage engine.<\/p>\n
You can watch a replay of Firefly\u2019s stage separation below.<\/p>\n