Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle developed by the American aerospace company Firefly Aerospace to cover the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and ride share customers.
facts
providerFirefly Aerospace
countryUSA
classsmall-lift
payload to LEOkg1,000
reusableno
first flight2021-09-03
flights total7
flights successful4
last flight2026-03-12
next flight2026-09-30
statusactive
price per launchUSD15,000,000
heightm29.6
diameterm1.82
masskg54,000
crawled events
- notable2026-10-28Firefly's SciTec expands FORGE missile-warning system to GEO sensor data
- notable2026-10-21Firefly completes design review for NASA's MoonFall lunar south pole mission
- notable2026-09-30Firefly signs Starcloud to test lunar data center capability aboard Elytra
- noise2026-09-22Firefly Aerospace completes second cleanroom at Cedar Park campus
- notable2026-08-29Firefly CEO Jason Kim says rocket capacity still trails satellite demand
- notable2026-08-19Firefly books Zeno Power radioisotope heater for 2028 lunar night demo
- notable2026-08-17Firefly wins NASA payload-processing contract for Vandenberg missions
- noise2026-08-16Firefly completes 226-second Miranda engine burn for Eclipse rocket
- notable2026-08-13Firefly, D-Orbit and Katalyst win Pentagon deorbit-as-a-service study awards
- notable2026-08-11Firefly Aerospace extends Lockheed Martin launch agreement through 2031
- notable2026-08-11Firefly's SciTec wins $94 million Space Force radar contract
- notable2026-07-31Space Force picks 15 firms for $981 million space test and training contract
latest 12 of 18 items naming this entity
timeline
- 20252025-04-29incidentFLTA006 (Message in a Booster) launch failureoutcome: Launch Failurecause: Problem during stage separation and second stage ignition caused disintegration of the separated 1st stage and the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension on the 2nd stage, substantially reducing the engine’s thrust. 2nd stage reached 320 km in altitude but did not reach orbital velocity, eventually impacted the Pacific Ocean north of Antarctica.as of 2026-07-08
- 20242024-07-03Firefly launches Alpha FLTA005 Noise of Summer mission for NASA CubeSat programas of 2026-07-12
- 2024-06-05Firefly signs multi-launch agreement with Lockheed Martin for 25 Alpha launchesas of 2026-07-12
- 20232023-12-22incidentFLTA004 (Fly the Lightning) partial launch failureoutcome: Launch was a Partial Failurecause: Stage 2 2nd burn suffered problems and did not deliver the payload to its precise target orbit. Communication to the spacecraft has been established and mission operations are now underway.as of 2026-07-08
- 2023-09-14Firefly launches Alpha on Space Force VICTUS NOX responsive-space mission with 24-hour noticeas of 2026-07-12
- 20222022-10-01Firefly Alpha FLTA002 reaches orbit and deploys payloads on second flightas of 2026-07-12
- 20212021-09-03incidentFLTA001 (Maiden Flight) launch failureoutcome: Launch Failurecause: The launch vehicle was destroyed after reaching Max-Q, exact reason unknown yet.as of 2026-07-08
sources
[1] ll.thespacedevs.com ↗
provider2026-07-05country2026-07-05payload to LEO (kg)2026-07-05reusable2026-07-05first flight2026-07-05flights total2026-07-05flights successful2026-07-05last flight2026-07-05next flight2026-07-06status2026-07-05price per launch (USD)2026-07-05height (m)2026-07-08diameter (m)2026-07-08mass (kg)2026-07-08
[2] en.wikipedia.org ↗
classwikipedia2026-07-05
faq
Who builds Firefly Alpha?
Firefly Alpha is built by Firefly Aerospace. as of 2026-07-05
How many times has Firefly Alpha flown?
Firefly Alpha has flown 7 times. as of 2026-07-05
When did Firefly Alpha first fly?
Firefly Alpha first flew on 2021-09-03. as of 2026-07-05
Is Firefly Alpha reusable?
Firefly Alpha is not reusable. as of 2026-07-05