Update at 12:30 p.m. EDT: Firefly has called in the “Rumble of Summer” mission and is evaluating its next launch opportunity.
A last-minute ground systems problem grounded Firefly Aerospace as it prepared to launch its fifth Alpha rocket on its first mission with NASA as a customer. When launched, the 29.48-meter (96.7-foot) two-stage rocket will send eight CubeSats from multiple NASA universities and centers into sun-synchronous Earth orbit on Monday evening.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is now targeted for no earlier than Tuesday, July 2, at 9:03 p.m. PDT (12:03 a.m. EDT, 0403 UTC).
The mission countdown reached T-8 seconds when the first call interruption occurred. This was described as a “ground support issue”.
The launch teams made a minute recycle call on the T-19 and headed toward the end of the 30-minute launch window at 9:33 p.m. PDT (12:33 p.m. EDT, 0433 UTC).
However, after the countdown reached about T-10 minutes and 12 seconds, a second abort call was made and Firefly ultimately decided to abort the launch attempt.
“The team has identified the solution and is working quickly to meet our next launch window of July 2,” Firefly wrote on social media.
The Alpha FLTA005 mission, also called “The Noise of Summer,” is part of the $9.8 million Venture-Class Launch Services Demo 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract awarded by NASA in December 2020. Along with Astra Space Inc. ($3.9 million) and Relativity Space Inc. ($3 million) received firm, fixed-price contracts to link small satellites to newer rockets.
The idea, according to NASA, is that these “small satellites can bear a higher level of risk than larger missions and will demonstrate – and help mitigate – the risks associated with the use of new launch vehicles providing access to space for future small spacecraft and missions. ” The contract is funded in part through the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in partnership with NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP).
Astra launched its VCLS Demo 2 mission in February 2022, which failed shortly after stage separation. Meanwhile, Relativity ended its Terran 1 rocket program before launching its VCLS Demo 2 mission. It is expected to lobby for that mission with its upcoming Terran R rocket, which is due to debut in 2026.
In May, NASA classified Firefly’s Alpha rocket as a “Category 1” on a three-level risk tolerance barometer. It defines this category as “High Risk – New, generic missile configuration with little or no prior demonstrated flight history.”
NASA calls this flight mission ELaNa 43 (Educational Nanosatellite Launch 43). The eight CubeSats on board are part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI), which it describes as “an ongoing partnership between the agency, educational institutions and nonprofits providing a path to space for educational small satellite missions.”
Alpha FLTA005 carries the following payloads, which will be deployed into sun-synchronous Earth orbit:
- CatSat – University of Arizona, Tucson
- KUbeSat-1 – University of Kansas, Lawrence
- MESAT-1 – University of Maine, Orono
- R5-S4, R5-S2-2.0 – NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Serenity – Teachers in Space
- SOC-i – University of Washington, Seattle
- TechEdSat-11 (TES-11) – NASA Ames Research Center, California’s Silicon Valley
Their functions range from CatSat’s demonstration of a deployable antenna for high-speed communications to MESAT-1’s investigation of temperatures to “determine the concentration of phytoplankton in water bodies to help predict algal blooms” to the R5-S4 and R5 satellites -S2-2.0 , which are looking at how to build more economical CubeSats.
“In the near future, R5 hopes to demonstrate new processes that enable faster and cheaper development of high-performance CubeSats,” Sam Pedrotti, R5 project manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement. “Cost and schedule improvements will allow R5 to provide higher risk options for payloads with low technology readiness levels so that more can be demonstrated in orbit.”
Alpha returns to flight
The last time an Alpha rocket was launched was on December 22, 2023, when it launched the “Fly the Lightning” mission on behalf of the customer, Lockheed Martin. This mission ended in partial failure when a problem with the upper stage caused the rocket to fail to place the satellite in its intended orbit.
In February, the company submitted its accident investigation report to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which included both an accident investigation team and an independent review team to determine the root cause of the problem. Firefly determined that this was a bug in the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) software that was not communicating properly with the upper stage’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters.
“We are proud of the combined team’s ability to work together to achieve this positive result,” Bill Weber, chief executive officer of Firefly Aerospace, said in a statement. “Looking forward, the important long-term outcome is the rapid, comprehensive maturation of Alpha into the reliable one-metric-ton class missile that the market demands, which Firefly is committed to and delivering.”
Lockheed Martin hasn’t been deterred by the partial incident, as evidenced by its recent investment in Firefly’s Alpha rockets as a ticket to space. In early June, it signed a multi-launch deal with Firefly for 15 confirmed launches and up to 10 additional missions through 2029. The first launch of Alpha FLTA006 is set to launch later this year from Vandenberg.
“Our customers have told us they need rapid advancement of new mission capabilities,” Bob Behnken, director, Ignite Technology Acceleration at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement. “This agreement with Firefly further diversifies our access to space, allowing us to continue rapid flight, demonstrating the cutting-edge technology we are developing for them, as well as enabling our continued exploration of tactical and rapid space solutions.”
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking key manufacturing facility expansions in Cedar Park, Texas, in late February, Weber told the crowd that Alpha FLTA005 was the first of a handful of missions this year.
“We’re launching the Alpha rocket four times this year with real missions that matter to the world we work in. Without testing payloads or we’ll try it and see what happens, real contracts with real customers, commercial and government,” Weber said. “And then we’ll come back next year and do it again six to eight times and then we’ll move on.”
During this presentation, Weber said that Alpha FLTA007 will be the first launch of their Elytra orbital vehicle “in September/early October.” The payloads that will be attached to this spacecraft have not been announced.
Introducing Elytra: Our line of highly mobile and scalable orbital vehicles. Formerly known as our Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra offers more robust on-orbit solutions including mobility, hosting, delivery and service in cislunar space and beyond. pic.twitter.com/bjJw969yBB
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) August 8, 2023
Firefly also announced that it has secured launch space in Virginia and Sweden in the past month. He said Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, will be ready to support both the Alpha rocket and the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) (in partnership with Northrop Grumman) in early 2025 . . It occupied the space previously used by Northrop Grumman’s Antares 220+ rocket.
A partnership with the Swedish Space Company (SSC) will allow it to begin launching from the new spaceport at the Estrange Space Center in Sweden in early 2026.
“We are pleased to announce this historic collaboration, which will have a huge impact on the global startup market, not least in Europe and the US,” Charlotte Sund, CEO of SSC, said in a statement. “By reducing the current shortage of orbital launch sites in Europe, this cooperation strengthens the transatlantic relationship between Sweden and the US, while offering unique space opportunities for Sweden’s NATO membership.” We look forward to launching this competitive and well-proven startup service at Esrange in Northern Europe.”
Firefly signed an agreement in 2019 to use SLC-20 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and announced plans to build an Alpha production facility at Exploration Park, near the gates of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
During a tour of the factory in February 2024, Adam Oakes, Firefly’s vice president of launch vehicles, said that the ability to launch from Wallops will be a big advantage, especially when it comes to launching the MLV that will take over the launch of the spacecraft Cygnus to the International Space Station.
“I think the government is looking at sustainable access to space and Florida, which is one hurricane away from being delayed for some time,” Oakes said. “So flying from Wallops is a unique distinction, I will say, for this vehicle. It is very competitive with the current Falcon 9 and Dragon system and actually delivers more cargo than what the Falcon 9 cargo system will deliver. So we’re pretty excited about that.”
