Posted on 04/29/2025 11:47:48 PM PDT by Red Badger
A Firefly Alpha rocket experienced a launch anomaly that left a Lockheed Martin satellite in a significantly “lower than planned orbit”, the aerospace company said on Tuesday.
The mission, designated FLTA0006, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:37 a.m. EST, a day after an earlier attempt was called off due to unresolved ground support equipment issues.
The flight was carrying a Lockheed Martin LM 400 technology demonstration satellite — a critical test of the company’s next-generation, software-defined spacecraft platform designed for a variety of defense and commercial missions.
The mission marked the first launch under a broader agreement between Firefly Aerospace and Lockheed Martin, which includes up to 25 missions over the next five years.
Orbit off the mark
While liftoff and initial ascent appeared normal, trouble emerged roughly 2 minutes and 35 seconds into flight during stage separation.
Footage from the launch showed a sudden cloud forming between the first and second stages, followed by what appeared to be debris scattering as the upper stage pushed onward.
Onboard cameras later revealed further debris shedding and apparent damage to the Lightning engine’s nozzle — which seemed to be either heavily compromised or missing altogether.
“Following a nominal liftoff of Firefly’s Alpha rocket, there was a mishap during first stage separation for the FLTA006 mission that impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle, putting the vehicle in a lower than planned orbit,” Firefly said in a statement
“We are working with our Lockheed Martin customer, the Space Force, and FAA to conduct a thorough investigation and determine the root cause,” it added.
Tech test turns turbulent
The satellite, self-funded by Lockheed Martin, has seen several delays leading up to liftoff. Although both the rocket and satellite were ready by mid-March, Firefly postponed the launch, citing limited range availability at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
This marked the sixth flight of Firefly’s Alpha rocket, which has had a mixed track record. Only two of its missions — the third (Victus Nox in September 2023) and the fifth (a NASA-sponsored cubesat launch in July 2024) — were widely deemed fully successful.
The rocket’s maiden flight in September 2021 ended in failure when Alpha lost control shortly after launch.
While the second flight in October 2022 did reach orbit, its payloads were inserted into lower-than-intended orbits and quickly reentered the atmosphere. Despite this, Firefly classified it as a success.
The fourth Alpha launch, in December 2023, also fell short when a Lockheed Martin satellite was left in an elliptical transfer orbit with a low perigee. A later investigation attributed that issue to a software glitch that prevented the upper stage from completing a required second burn.
LM 400is part of Lockheed’s “Message in a Booster” mission — a strategic move under its “show more, tell less” approach to unveiling next-gen capabilities for government and civilian clients.
The payload is a mid-sized, multi-mission satellite bus capable of supporting payloads up to 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds) and operating across a range of orbits — including low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary orbit (GEO).
As per the company, the LM 400 is “particularly well-suited for proliferated constellations, whether that be military, civilian or commercial customer needs.”
Fascinating concept. To create a product that will do the same as the industry leader’s product and sell it at a lower cost.
Cardboard and cow farts may be the future of rocketry.
At least they already have a contract.
Musk produced his rockets 70 % cheaper than NASA does it’s why he gets so many contracts for launches.
Dang. There goes my retirement chk. 🚀😊👍
Styling itself as Space X’s little brother, Rocket Lab looks like an interesting company.
I HAVE COMPLETE FAITH THAT ELON WILL FIGURE THIS OUT & RECOVER MORE OF EACH LAUNCH.
RIGHT-—WHILE ALL THE IDIOTS TALK ABOUT “POLLUTION”
AND—THE DRUNK HORSE LEANING AGAINST THE SALOON WALL...
All part of the artificial reef program...
My guess is and has been that RocketLab will take the silver medal. It was started in NZ I believe, but has development and launching going on here in the the US.
China had 68 launches in all of 2024, slightly more than in the prior two years. Also, only SpaceX has the reusable workhorse first stage booster.
I am and will remained puzzled that Blue Origin didn't further develop the New Shepard booster to send (relatively small) payloads to orbit. It's got a methane-burning engine, not easy to make. But its first flight was in 2012, but the first flight with passengers (strictly a thrill ride) was in the summer of 2021. BO has just two human-rated boosters, with just four or five capsules, has remained suborbital only, and has a very low launch cadence (31 total flights which includes I think eleven with passengers). If Blue Origin went on the block, it's likely to cost more and be worth more than ULA.
About 40 years ago, the airhead LSD king Timothy Leary was quoted in "California" magazine. It was a two page spread, just him and a bunch of what looked like Venice Beach's finest (/jk) outdoors, at night. Something like, "for 5,000 years humanity has been heading from East to West down the genetic runway... brightest, free-est... [all white kids] now on this Pacific Rim are about to make the next evolutionary lurch." Words to that effect. He'd have been so cancelled if he'd been alive and said that in this century. :^)
In my line of work, LSD stands for “Least Significant Digit”.................😁
The Chinese mistake it for MSG.
Yikes!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.