Statements from Firefly FLTA006 mission page:
April 29, 2025, 8 am PDT: 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. We are working with our Lockheed Martin customer, the Space Force, and FAA to conduct a thorough investigation and determine the root cause. As more information is available, we will be providing updates here.
April 29, 2025, 11 am PDT: Today, Firefly’s Alpha FLTA006 launch began with a nominal liftoff and progressed through first stage flight, reaching target separation velocity. The rocket then experienced a mishap between stage separation and second stage ignition that led to the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension, substantially reducing the engine’s thrust.
Initial indications showed Alpha’s upper stage reached 320 km in altitude. However, upon further assessment, the team learned the upper stage did not reach orbital velocity, and the stage and payload have now safely impacted the Pacific Ocean in a cleared zone north of Antarctica.
Firefly 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. We will provide more information on our mission page after the investigation is completed.
Damn, this sucks for Firefly. I was hoping that they could put some of Alpha's early failures behind them and start building up a success streak, but it seems that Alpha still has issues to work out.
