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Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket explodes during preflight test

News
By Mike Wall published 29 September 2025

"The company is assessing the impact to its stage test stand, and no other facilities were impacted."

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A black Firefly Aerospace rocket launches into space on Dec. 22, 2023
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 22, 2023 on the company's fourth-ever flight, a mission called "Fly the Lightning." (Image credit: Firefly Aerospace/Trevor Mahlmann)

We'll likely have to wait a while to see Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket take to the skies again.

The first stage of the update on Monday afternoon. "Proper safety protocols were followed, and all personnel are safe. The company is assessing the impact to its stage test stand, and no other facilities were impacted."

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It's another setback for Firefly, which suffered a failure during its most recent Alpha launch this past April.

During that mission, called "Message in a Booster," Alpha's first-stage booster broke apart shortly after separating from the upper stage. The anomaly damaged the upper stage's engine nozzle, compromising its thrust and leading to the clearing Alpha to launch once again.

The two-stage Alpha, which stands 96.7 feet (29.6 meters) tall, debuted in September 2021. Just two of its six orbital launches to date have been fully successful.

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Firefly Aerospace launches 8 cubesats to orbit on 5th-ever launch (video)

— Firefly's launch page. Firefly had been targeting a liftoff later this year; it's too soon to predict how that schedule might change.

"Regular testing is part of Firefly's philosophy — we test each critical component, engine, and vehicle stage to ensure it operates within our flight requirements before we ship to the launch pad," the company wrote in Monday's update. "We learn from each test to improve our designs and build a more reliable system. We will share more information on the path forward at a later date."

Firefly doesn't just build rockets. Indeed, it's probably best known for its robotic Blue Ghost moon lander, the first of which aced its lunar mission for NASA in March of this year.

Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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