Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Fly the Lightning

Alpha FLTA004 Fly the Lightning is a dedicated commercial launch for Lockheed Martin in support of a national security technology demonstration.

FLTA004 Fly the Lightning

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Technology

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 2W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Probability: 60%

Firefly’s Alpha rocket will launch Lockheed Martin’s new wideband Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) technology integrated on a Terran Orbital Nebula satellite bus. Developed within Lockheed Martin Space’s Ignite organization using a proprietary design, the ESA payload will demonstrate faster on-orbit sensor calibration to deliver rapid capabilities to U.S. warfighters.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 23, 2023, 5:48 a.m.

Updated launch status following confirmation of stage 2 2nd burn failure.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 5:32 p.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 4:45 p.m.

Updated T-0.


LL2 • Dec. 22, 2023, 4:28 p.m.

Livestream has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 22, 2023, 3:59 p.m.

Weather 40% GO.


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: 3

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

Software problem blamed for Firefly Alpha mishap

A software glitch prevented the upper stage of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket from completing a second burn during a December launch, stranding its payload in a low orbit.

SpaceNews

Lockheed Martin’s misplaced satellite to fall back to Earth next month

Despite a much shortened mission, the company said it successfully accomplished many of the objectives of the technology demonstration..

SpaceNews

Firefly Alpha upper stage malfunction puts payload into wrong orbit

A problem with the upper stage of a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket placed a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration satellite into the wrong orbit on a Dec. 22 launch.

Space Scout

Firefly Alpha Flight 004 Ends in Anomaly

After several delays due to uncooperative weather, Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle has flown for the fourth time as part of the Fly the Lightning mission. Firefly was able to find a break in the weather on Friday morning, and the vehicle li…

NASASpaceflight

Firefly suffers second stage anomaly on “Fly the Lightning” mission

Just on the heels of its success in integrating and launching a payload to orbit within 27 hours for the Space Force, Firefly Aerospace flew again — this time with a dedicated flight for Lockheed Martin. The Alpha FLTA004 mission lifted of…

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 2W


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 23 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-68
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-11
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
2 days, 14 hours ago
Haiyang 4-01
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Next generation Chinese ocean salinity measurements satellite to study ocean climatic changes and its effects on ecology and biological cycles.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 15 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-69
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 19 hours ago
Koreasat 6A
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

The Koreasat 6A spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space, will have 20 transponders for fixed satellite services and six for TV broadcasting to repla…


Kinetica 1
Success
5 days, 8 hours ago
15 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch of 15 satellites on share-ride to SSO: * Shiyan 26 A/B/C * Jilin-1 High Resolution-05B * Jilin-1 Platform-02A-03 * Yunyao-1 31-36 * Xig…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 9-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2
Success
1 week ago
PIESAT-2 01-04
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan 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.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 6-77
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.


Electron
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (Protosat-1)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Launch of a yet to identified satellite to SSO for an undisclosed customer. The customer is highly likely to be Low Earth Orbit communication satelli…