Watch the Launch

FLTA003 (VICTUS NOX)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 2W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Third flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying a payload for the US Department of Defense.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Sept. 15, 2023, 6:44 a.m.

Launch success with satellite deployed.


Cosmic_Penguin • Sept. 15, 2023, 2:34 a.m.

Liftoff.


Nosu • Sept. 14, 2023, 7:28 a.m.

Adding probable launch window


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 8, 2023, 5:51 a.m.

NET May


Firefly Alpha

Family:
Configuration:

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.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    29.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.82 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    2.21 m
  • Launch Mass
    54.0 T
  • Thrust
    736.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Firefly Alpha
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Firefly Alpha
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $15000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    630.0 kg

Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace

(FA)

CEO: Peter Schumacher Founded: 2014 Successes: 3 Failures: 2 Pending: 4

Agency Type:

Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Austin, Texas, that develops small and medium-sized launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit.

INFO WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

After setting new record for responsive launch, Space Force eyes next challenge

The U.S. Space Force Victus Nox mission that Firefly Aerospace launched Sept. 14 set a new record for how quickly a national security payload can be put on orbit

CNBC

Investing in Space: Firefly’s successful launch represents a key moment for company’s future

Social media lit up Thursday evening with imagery of an object tearing through the dusk California sky. A rocket, seemingly unannounced, had launched and was putting on a show as it headed for space.

SpaceNews

Tactically Responsive Space strengthens America

The U.S. Space Force, Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space demonstrated a Tactically Responsive Space capability that's the next step in utilizing commercial capability to augment national security space in a time of need – anytime, anyw…

SpaceNews

Firefly launches Space Force ‘Victus Nox’ mission

The U.S. Space Force announced that Firefly Aerospace successfully launched a Millennium Space small satellite Sept. 14 — a mission designed to demonstrate capabilities to launch in a much shorter timeline than is typical for national secu…

SpaceNews

Space Force keeping the ‘responsive launch’ dream alive

For decades, the promise of a faster and more responsive launch capability has seduced military strategists who have looked for ways to get satellites to orbit quickly in response to […]

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 2W


KAIROS
Failure
9 hours, 58 minutes ago
Flight 2
Space One Launch Pad - Spaceport Kii, Japan

Second flight of the KAIROS launch vehicle. 5 satellites for testing various technologies will be on board: * TATARA-1 * PARUS-T1A * SC-Sat1…


Falcon 9
Success
13 hours, 32 minutes ago
O3b mPower 7 & 8
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Seventh and eighth of a constellation of eleven high-throughput communications satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) built by Boeing and operated by…


Falcon 9
Success
22 hours, 39 minutes ago
NROL-149
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Sixth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 11 hours ago
GPS III SV07 (RRT-1)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

GPS-III (Global Positioning System) is the first evolution stage of the third generation of the GPS satellites. It consists of the first ten (known a…


Long March 2D
Success
1 day, 17 hours ago
PIESAT-2 09-12
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Long March 5B/YZ-2
Success
2 days, 1 hour ago
SatNet LEO Group 01
101 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group…


Electron
Success
4 days, 10 hours ago
Stonehenge
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) - Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Sub-orbital launch of the Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program for a confidential customer.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 14 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-2
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D/YZ-3
Success
6 days, 4 hours ago
High Speed Laser Diamond Constellation Test System
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

5 prototype satellites for Low Earth Orbit communications satellite constellation testing, in 3 different orbits.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 12-5
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.