Mission record
Firefly Alpha | FLTA004 (Fly the Lightning)
Trajectory & orbital insertion
Ascent path is a representation — true ascent telemetry isn’t public.
Provider
Firefly Aerospace
Provider type
Commercial
Orbit
LEO
Mission type
Technology
Launch site
United States of America
Date
Fri, 22 Dec 2023 17:32:30 GMT
Orbital launch #
#6579 ever
Go probability
60%
Failure
Stage 2 2nd burn suffered problems and did not deliver the payload to its precise target orbit. Communication to the spacecraft has been established and mission operations are now underway.
Mission
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.