Update 12:30 a.m. EDT: Firefly has decided to cancel the “Noise of Summer” mission and is evaluating its next launch opportunity.
Firefly Aerospace Corp. was grounded after experiencing a last-minute ground system issue while preparing to launch its Alpha 5 rocket, its first mission with NASA as a customer. The two-stage, 29.48-meter (96.7-foot) rocket is scheduled to launch eight CubeSats from multiple universities and NASA centers into sun-synchronous Earth orbit on Monday night.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex-2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Space Command Base is scheduled for Tuesday, July 2, after 9:03 p.m. PDT (12:03 a.m. EDT, 04:03 UTC).
The mission countdown had reached T-8 seconds when the first abort request came in, which was explained as a “ground support problem.”
The launch team decided to recycle to T-19 minutes, aiming for the end of the 30-minute launch window to be 9:33 pm PDT (12:33 am EDT, 4:33 am UTC).
However, when the countdown reached approximately 10 minutes and 12 seconds, a second abort request was made and Firefly ultimately decided to cancel the launch.
“The team has identified a solution and is working quickly to meet the next launch window on July 2,” Firefly wrote on social media.
The Alpha FLTA005 mission, also nicknamed “Summer Rumble,” is part of the $9.8 million Venture Class Launch Services Demo-2 (VCLS Demo-2) contract awarded by NASA in December 2020. The mission, along with Astra Space ($3.9 million) and Relativity Space ($3 million), were awarded fixed-price contracts to mate small satellites to a new launch vehicle.
According to NASA, the idea is that “these small satellites can withstand a higher level of risk than larger missions and help demonstrate and mitigate the risks associated with the use of new launch vehicles to provide access to space for future small spacecraft and missions.” The contract is funded in part through NASA’s Science Mission Directorate’s Earth Sciences Division in partnership with NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP).
Astra launched the VCLS Demo-2 mission in February 2022, but it failed shortly after stage separation. Meanwhile, Relativity has terminated its Terran 1 rocket program prior to the launch of the VCLS Demo 2 mission, and the company will likely push to carry out this mission using its upcoming Terran R rocket, scheduled to debut in 2026.
In May, NASA announced that the Firefly Alpha rocket wouldCategory 1It is defined on a three-level risk tolerance barometer as “High Risk – new generic rocket configurations with little or no prior flight experience.”
![](http://spaceflightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240422-Firefly-Demo-2-Payload-Processing-MESAT1-Intergration.jpeg)
NASA is calling the flight the ELaNa 43 (Educational Nanosatellite Launch 43) mission. The eight CubeSats on board are part of NASA’s CubeSate Launch Initiative (CSLI), which NASA describes as “an ongoing partnership between NASA, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations to provide a pathway into space for educational small satellite missions.”
Alpha FLTA005 will be deployed into Sun-synchronous Earth orbit carrying the following payloads:
- CatSat – University of Arizona, Tucson
- KUbeSat-1 – University of Kansas, Lawrence
- MESAT-1 – University of Maine at Orono
- R5-S4, R5-S2-2.0 – NASA Johnson Space Center
- Serenity – The Cosmic Teacher
- SOC-i – University of Washington, Seattle
- TechEdSat-11 (TES-11) – NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California
These satellites range in capabilities from CatSat, which is demonstrating a deployable antenna for high-speed communications, to MESAT-1, which will conduct temperature research to “measure phytoplankton concentrations in water bodies to predict algae blooms,” to the R5-S4 and R5-S2-2.0 satellites, which are exploring ways to build slimmer CubeSats.
“In the near future, R5 hopes to demonstrate new processes that can develop high-performance CubeSats faster and cheaper,” Sam Pedrotti, R5 project manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement. “Cost and schedule improvements will also enable R5 to provide higher-risk crewing options for less technologically mature payloads, enabling more demonstrations on orbit.”
![](http://spaceflightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701_Alpha_FLTA005_launch_timeline.jpeg)
Alpha resumes flight
The Alpha rocket’s last launch was on December 22, 2023, when it launched the “Fly the Lightning” mission for customer Lockheed Martin. The mission ended in partial failure when an upper stage issue prevented the rocket from placing the satellite into its planned orbit.
The company submitted an accident investigation report to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February, which included both the accident investigation team and an independent investigation team that determined the root cause of the problem, Firefly determined, was an error within the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software that failed to properly communicate with the upper stage’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters.
“We are proud of our integrated team’s ability to work together to achieve this positive outcome,” Firefly Aerospace CEO Bill Weber said in a statement. “Looking to the future, the key long-term outcome is to rapidly and thoroughly mature Alpha into the reliable one-ton launch vehicle the market demands, and Firefly is committed to this and is delivering.”
![](http://spaceflightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701_Fly_the_Lightning_launch.jpg)
Undeterred by the partial disaster, Lockheed Martin recently invested in the Firefly Alpha rocket as its ticket to space. In early June, the company signed a multi-launch contract with Firefly that includes 15 firm launches and up to 10 additional missions through 2029. The first launch of Alpha, FLTA006, is scheduled to take place from Vandenberg later this year.
“Our customers have told us they need rapid advancements in new mission capabilities,” Bob Behnken, director of Ignite Technology Acceleration at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement. “This contract with Firefly further diversifies their access to space and enables us to continue to rapidly flight-demonstrate the cutting-edge technologies we are developing for them, while enabling our continued exploration of tactical and responsive space solutions.”
Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late February marking a major expansion of the company’s Cedar Park, Texas, manufacturing facility, Weber told the audience that Alpha FLTA005 is the first of several missions this year.
“We’re going to launch the Alpha rocket four times this year and do real missions that matter in the world that we operate in. Not just test payloads or things to try out and see what happens, but real contracts with real customers, commercial companies and government agencies,” Weber said. “Then we’ll come back next year and do six to eight more launches, and keep going.”
During the presentation, Weber said Alpha FLTA007 will be the first launch of the elytra orbiter “sometime in September or early October.” The payload that will be attached to the spacecraft has not yet been announced.
Introducing Elytra: a line of highly mobile, scalable orbital vehicles. Formerly known as Space Utility Vehicle, Elytra provides a more robust on-orbit solution for mobility, hosting, delivery and servicing in near-Earth space and beyond. pic.twitter.com/bjJw969yBB
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) August 8, 2023
Firefly also Launch space The company announced that Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, will be ready to launch both its Alpha rocket and its Medium Lift Launch Vehicle (MLV) (partnered with Northrop Grumman) in early 2025. The facility takes over space previously used by Northrop Grumman’s Antares 220+ rocket.
a partnership The partnership with the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) will enable launches from a new spaceport at the Estrange Space Centre in Sweden from 2026.
“We are pleased to announce this historic partnership that will have a major impact not only on the European and U.S. launch markets, but also on the global launch market,” SSC CEO Charlotta Sand said in a statement. “This partnership will reduce the current gap in orbital launch sites in Europe, strengthen the transatlantic connection between Sweden and the U.S., and provide Sweden’s NATO allies with a unique space capability. We look forward to launching this competitive, proven launch service from Esrange in Northern Europe.”
Firefly signed a contract in 2019 to use SLC-20 at the Cape Canaveral Space Command Station and announced plans to build an Alpha manufacturing facility at Exploration Park near the gates of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
During a factory tour in February 2024, Adam Oakes, Firefly’s vice president of launch vehicles, said the ability to launch from Wallops would be a major advantage, especially when it comes to launching the MLV, which will take over from launching Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station.
“Governments want resilient access to space, and Florida can get away with one hurricane and experience some delays,” Oakes said. “Flying from Wallops is a unique differentiator for this rocket, because it’s very cost-competitive with the current Falcon 9 system and Dragon, and it can actually carry more cargo than the Falcon 9 cargo system can carry. So we’re very excited about this.”