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louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Firefly Launch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HfHAazNM3Q

Alpha looking to go orbital.

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louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Firefly Launch

First attempt an abort...

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louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Firefly Launch

2nd attempt looking good.

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Let's Go to Mars...Google on: Fast Track to Mars blogspot.com

louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Firefly Launch

Whoops! Anomaly!!

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Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Let's hope they try again, we've had discussion about other companies in the private and commercial threads going back to 2015 and the earlier days of newmars forums

Firefly Alpha explodes during first launch

https://spacenews.com/firefly-alpha-exp … st-launch/

Firefly Aerospace’s first launch of its Alpha rocket ended in failure when the rocket exploded two and a half minutes after liftoff Sept. 2

The Alpha rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 here at 9:59 p.m. Eastern. A first launch attempt at 9 p.m. Eastern was aborted in the final seconds of the countdown for unspecified technical reasons, but launch controllers reset the countdown for a second launch attempt.

About two and a half minutes after liftoff, the rocket appeared to tumble and then explode. “Alpha experienced an anomaly during first stage ascent that resulted in the loss of the vehicle,” Firefly tweeted

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

US Govt orders Polyakov to sell Firefly Aerospace stake

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_G … e_999.html

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Firefly Launch

I see ITAR and National Security in the light of Russian possible invasion.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Space politics was always going to catch up with this one, Elon Musk is a South African but became a naturalized US citizen at the age of 31. McCain (R-Ariz.) when he was alive hated the use of the RD-180 engine, also you had the recent Ukrainian Civil War or Russo-Ukrainian War from 2014 and possibly still ongoing and in the US American laws prevent the foreign handling of rocket tech prohibit non-US citizens to work with them

The Space News article also mentions National Security.

Firefly halts launch preparations after federal government seeks divestment of foreign ownership

https://spacenews.com/firefly-halts-lau … ownership/

Firefly Aerospace is pausing preparations for its next Alpha launch, originally scheduled for early 2022, after the government asked its largest shareholder to divest its stake for national security reasons.

Noosphere Venture Partners, a fund run by Ukrainian-born investor Max Polyakov, said Dec. 29 that it will retain an investment banking firm to sell its interest in Firefly. That sale comes at the request of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the company said. Bloomberg was the first to report Noosphere’s plans.

Firefly, in a statement to SpaceNews, said that, because of that request, it is holding off on preparations for its second Alpha launch. “During this process, the government has made a decision to limit our operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base while this issue is being resolved,” it stated. “Firefly is actively working with our government partners to mitigate any regulatory issues that may impact launch operations.”

Another article here
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles … et-startup
While Ukraine is an ally of the U.S., its ongoing conflict with Russia has increased worries about what might happen to valuable technology inside of the country.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Northrop Grumman and Firefly to partner on upgraded Antares

https://spacenews.com/northrop-grumman- … d-antares/

Antares known during early development as Taurus II, an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-08-08 16:08:21)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Firefly Aerospace Successfully Reaches Orbit and Deploys Customer Payloads with its Alpha Rocket

https://spacechannel.com/firefly-aerosp … ha-rocket/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Firefly wins second NASA CLPS mission

https://spacenews.com/firefly-wins-seco … s-mission/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Plug in your headphones because all four of our Reaver engines have been acceptance tested for Alpha FLTA004 with NASA
https://twitter.com/Firefly_Space/statu … 8336467969
Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to launch

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Firefly to buy remaining Virgin Orbit assets

https://spacenews.com/firefly-to-buy-re … it-assets/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Firefly to launch Lockheed Martin small-satellite experiment

https://spacenews.com/firefly-to-launch … xperiment/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Firefly Launch

Firefly Aerospace's new rocket engine spouts green flames in 1st 'hot fire' test (photo)

https://www.space.com/firefly-aerospace … test-photo