Firefly Alpha / launch vehicle
sourcingtypical 4/5 · 15 factssmall-liftUSAactive
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.
key specs
faq
Who builds Firefly Alpha?
Firefly Alpha is built by Firefly Aerospace. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
How many times has Firefly Alpha flown?
Firefly Alpha has flown 7 times. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
When did Firefly Alpha first fly?
Firefly Alpha first flew on 2021-09-03. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
Is Firefly Alpha reusable?
Firefly Alpha is not reusable. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
facts
providerFirefly Aerospace
countryUSA
classsmall-lift
payload to LEO (kg)1000
reusableno
first flight2021-09-03
flights total7
flights successful4
last flight2026-03-12
next flight2026-09-30
statusactive
price per launch (USD)15000000
height (m)29.6
diameter (m)1.82
mass (kg)54000
events
- noise2026-07-07Firefly wins $13 million NASA JPL subcontract for Mars mission aeroshell
- notable2026-06-30Firefly and SSC Space target 2028 for first Esrange launch
- major2026-06-30NASA awards $590 million across four lunar lander missions
- notable2026-06-25Firefly Aerospace acquires vision-navigation firm Space-ng for its landers and Elytra
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. (source, as of 2026-07-08)
- 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. (source, as of 2026-07-08)
- 20212021-09-03incidentFLTA001 (Maiden Flight) launch failureoutcome: Launch Failurecause: The launch vehicle was destroyed after reaching Max-Q, exact reason unknown yet. (source, 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