Firefly scraps Vandenberg rocket launch for second day in a row
Update, 2:40 p.m.:
Firefly has scrubbed launch plans for the day and is rescheduling for next week.
According to a tweet just after 2 p.m., Firefly chose to cancel today’s launch due to “violation of wind constraints.”
The aerospace company is now targeting Sept. 19 and 20 for the next launch attempts.
“Alpha stands ready to launch,” Firefly said.
Launch Update: The Firefly team working @SLDelta30 made the decision to scrub today’s launch due to violation of wind constraints. Firefly has secured Sept. 19th and 20th on the range for the next launch attempts. Alpha stands ready to launch. Stay tuned for more information.
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) September 12, 2022
Original story:
After technical issues delayed Firefly Aerospace from launching a rocket on Sunday, the company was ready for round No. 2 on Monday afternoon.
The company tweeted that it will attempt to launch its Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base at about 3 p.m.
“The team worked through the issue and is ready to go,” Firefly said via Twitter on Monday.
The launch was delayed on Sunday after workers noted a drop in helium pressure during pre-flight preparations.
The team worked through the issue and is ready to go. The launch window opens at 3:00 PM PST. Waiting on status of current weather conditions. Stand by for more details. pic.twitter.com/TKwYyd9vFc
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) September 12, 2022
This will be the second launch for the company from Vandenberg; in September 2021, the company’s rocket exploded 15 seconds into the flight after an engine shut down. The fiery explosion rained bits of debris across the Central Coast.
Now Firefly is hoping to try again.
What the company is cheekily calling “Alpha Flight 2: To The Black” will be Firefly’s attempt to launch multiple satellites into low-Earth orbit, according to a news release.
According to the release, “Alpha will first insert into an elliptical transfer orbit, coast to apogee and perform a circularization burn.”
The rocket will carry several payloads, including a Teachers in Space CubeSat miniature satellite that will collect data during the mission and make it available to the educational community; a NASA CubeSat designed in coordination with San Jose State; and a picosatellite, or, ultra-small satellite, deployer that will “test the world’s first fully free and open source telecommunications constellation,” according to Firefly.
The launch will be livestreamed by Everyday Astronaut. The livestream will begin approximately an hour ahead of launch.
Updates can be found at firefly.com/alpha-flight-2-to-the-black.
