Update 12:30 PM EDT: Firefly has called the “Noise of Summer” scrub mission and is considering its next launch opportunity.
A last-minute ground systems issue kept Firefly Aerospace grounded as it prepared to launch its fifth Alpha rocket on its first mission with NASA as a customer. The two-stage, 29.48-meter (96.7-foot) high rocket will send eight CubeSats from various NASA universities and centers into sun-synchronous Earth orbit Monday evening.
Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is now targeting Tuesday, July 2 at 9:03 p.m. PDT (04:03 EDT, 0403 UTC) at the earliest.
The mission countdown reached T-8 seconds when the first abort call was heard. It was described as a “ground support problem”.
The launch teams called for recycling on the T-19 minutes and headed for the end of the 30-minute launch window at 9:33 p.m. PDT (04:33 a.m. EDT, 0433 UTC).
However, once the countdown reached about T-10 minutes and 12 seconds, a second abort call was made and Firefly ultimately decided to scrub the launch attempt.
“The team has identified a solution and is working quickly to meet our next launch window of July 2nd,” Firefly wrote on social media.
The Alpha FLTA005 mission, also nicknamed “Noise of Summer,” is part of the $9.8 million Venture-Class Launch Services Demo 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract awarded by NASA in December 2020. Along with Astra Space Inc. ($3.9 million) and Relativity Space Inc. ($3 million) won firm, fixed-price contracts to link small satellites to newer rockets.
The idea, according to NASA, is that these “small satellites can tolerate a higher level of risk than larger missions and will demonstrate — and help mitigate — the risks associated with using new launch vehicles to provide access to space for future small spacecraft and missions. The contract is funded in part through the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in cooperation with the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP).
Astra launched its VCLS Demo 2 mission in February 2022, which ended in failure shortly after stage separation. Meanwhile, Relativity has ended its Terran 1 rocket program before launching its VCLS Demo 2 mission. It will likely lobby for a flight with that mission using its upcoming Terran R rocket, which is set to debut in 2026.
In May, NASA classified the Firefly Alpha rocket as “category 1” on the three-level risk tolerance barometer. It defines this category as “High Risk – a new, common missile configuration with little or no prior proven flight history”.
NASA refers to this flight as ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites 43). The eight CubeSats on board are part of the agency’s CubeSate launch Initiative (CSLI), which it describes as “an ongoing partnership between the agency, educational institutions and non-profit organizations that provides a path to space for educational small satellite missions.”
Alpha FLTA005 carries the following payloads, which will be deployed into a sun-synchronous Earth orbit:
- CatSat – University of Arizona, Tucson
- KUbeSat-1 – University of Kansas, Lawrence
- MESAT-1 – University of Maine, Orono
- R5-S4, R5-S2-2.0 – NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Serenity – Teachers in Space
- SOC-i – University of Washington, Seattle
- TechEdSat-11 (TES-11) – NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California
Their functions range from demonstrating CatSat’s deployable high-speed communications antenna to studying MESAT-1 temperatures to “determine the concentration of phytoplankton in water bodies to predict algal blooms” to the R5-S4 and R5-S2-2.0 satellites. , who are looking at how to build slimmer CubeSats.
“In the near future, R5 hopes to demonstrate new processes that will enable faster and cheaper development of high-performance CubeSats,” Sam Pedrotty, R5 project manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement. “Cost and schedule improvements will allow R5 to provide higher risk driving capabilities for low technology readiness payloads, so more can be demonstrated in orbit.”
Alpha returns to flight
The last time an Alpha rocket launched was on December 22, 2023, when it launched the “Fly the Lightning” mission on behalf of a customer, Lockheed Martin. This mission ended in partial failure when a problem with the upper stage caused the rocket to fail to place the satellite in its intended orbit.
In February, the company submitted its accident investigation report to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which included both an accident investigation team and an independent review team to determine the root cause of the problem. Firefly discovered that it was a bug in the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) software that was not communicating properly with the upper stage’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters.
“We are proud of the combined team’s ability to work together to achieve this positive outcome,” Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said in a statement. “Looking forward, an important long-term outcome is the rapid and thorough maturation of the Alpha into the reliable one-ton rocket that the market demands and that Firefly is dedicated to delivering.”
Lockheed Martin hasn’t been deterred by partial misfortune, as evidenced by its recent investment in Firefly’s Alpha rockets as a ticket to space. In early June, it signed a multi-launch agreement with Firefly for 15 confirmed launches and up to 10 additional missions through 2029. The first launch on Alpha FLTA006 is scheduled for launch later this year from Vandenberg.
“Our customers have told us they need rapid development of new mission capabilities,” said Bob Behnken, director of Ignite Technology Acceleration at Lockheed Martin Space. “This agreement with Firefly further diversifies our approach to space, allows us to continue to fly rapidly with the demonstration of the cutting-edge technology we are developing for them, and allows us to continue to explore tactical and sensitive space solutions.”
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony for key expansions at its manufacturing facilities in Cedar Park, Texas, in late February, Weber told the crowd that Alpha FLTA005 is the first of a few missions this year.
“We’re launching the Alpha rocket four times this year with real missions that matter in the world we operate in. We’re not testing payloads, or we’re going to try and see what happens, real contracts with real customers, commercial and government.” Weber said. “And then we come back next year and do it six to eight times again and then we go.
During that presentation, Weber said that Alpha FLTA007 will be the first launch of their Elytra orbiter “in the September/early October time frame.” The payload that will be attached to this spacecraft has not been announced.
Introducing Elytra: our line of highly mobile and scalable orbital vehicles. Formerly known as our Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra offers a more robust in-orbit solution, including mobility, hosting, delivery and servicing in and out of cislunar space. pic.twitter.com/bjJw969yBB
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) August 8, 2023
Firefly also announced that it secured startup space in both Virginia and Sweden within the past month. It said Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, will be ready to support both the Alpha rocket and the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) (in partnership with Northrop Grumman) in early 2025. It took over the space previously used by Northrop Grumman’s Antares 220+ rocket.
A partnership with the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) will allow it to launch from a new spaceport at the Estrange Space Center in Sweden from 2026.
“We are delighted to announce this historic collaboration, which will have a huge impact on the global launch market, not just in Europe and the US,” said Charlotta Sund, CEO of SSC, in a statement. “This collaboration narrows the current gap between orbital launch sites in Europe and strengthens the transatlantic connection between Sweden and the US, while offering unique space capabilities for Sweden’s NATO membership. We look forward to launching this competitive and proven launch service at Esrange in Northern Europe.”
Firefly signed an agreement in 2019 to use SLC-20 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and announced plans to build an Alpha manufacturing facility at Exploration Park, near the gates of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
During a tour of the factory in February 2024, Adam Oakes, Firefly’s vice president of launch vehicles, said the ability to launch from Wallops will be a big asset, especially for the MLV launch, which will take over the launch of the Cygnus spacecraft. to the International Space Station.
“I think the government is looking for a resilient approach to space and the Florida hurricane from holding off for some time,” Oakes said. “I would say flying from Wallops is a unique differentiator for this vehicle. Compared to the current Falcon 9 system and Dragon, it’s very cost competitive and actually delivers more cargo than the Falcon 9 cargo system will deliver. So we’re pretty excited about that.”