| Title | Firefly Aerospace Reaches Orbit With Alpha Rocket | |
| Date | Monday October 03 2022, @12:09AM | |
| Author | Fnord666 | |
| Topic | ||
| from the to-infinity-and-beyond dept. | ||
Firefly's Alpha rocket reaches orbit on second launch
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha launch vehicle reached orbit on its second launch Oct. 1, more than a year after the vehicle's first launch failed.
The Alpha rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Eastern. The rocket's upper stage achieved orbit nearly eight minutes later. After a circularization burn, the upper stage deployed its payloads, and Firefly declared "100% Mission success" about one hour and 45 minutes after liftoff.
[...] The "To The Black" test flight carried several satellites to be deployed into a 300-kilometer orbit inclined at 137 degrees. The Teachers in Space – Serenity 3U cubesat is designed to collect basic flight data for use by educators. NASA's TechEdSat-15 3U cubesat includes several technology demonstration payloads, such as an "exo-brake" intended to provide a targeted reentry of the cubesat. A PicoBus deployer carried six PocketQube satellites for AMSAT Spain, Fossa and Libra Space Foundation.
Firefly, Millennium Space selected for U.S. Space Force rapid-launch demonstration
The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023.
The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission as part of a broader effort by the U.S. Space Force to accelerate the timeline for deploying payloads to orbit.
Previously: Rocket 'Terminated' in Fiery Explosion Over Pacific Ocean (2021)
Northrop Grumman Picks Firefly to Replace Russian Engines on Antares Rocket
Watch Firefly Aerospace Try to Reach Orbit for 1st Time Sunday
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printed from SoylentNews, Firefly Aerospace Reaches Orbit With Alpha Rocket on 2024-04-20 01:47:27