On April 29, 2025 Firefly’s Alpha FLTA006 launch began with a nominal liftoff and progressed through first stage flight, reaching target separation velocity. The rocket then experienced a mishap between stage separation and second stage ignition that led to the loss of the Lightning engine nozzle extension, substantially reducing the engine’s thrust.
Initial indications showed Alpha’s upper stage reached 320 km in altitude. However, upon further assessment, the team learned the upper stage did not reach orbital velocity, and the stage and payload have now safely impacted the Pacific Ocean in a cleared zone north of Antarctica.
Firefly recognizes the hard work that went into payload development and would like to thank our mission partners at Lockheed Martin for their continued support. The team is working closely with our customers and the FAA to conduct an investigation and determine root cause of the anomaly. We will provide more information on our mission page after the investigation is completed.
Alpha FLTA006 was the second mission Firefly launched for Lockheed Martin and the first of Firefly’s multi-launch agreement with Lockheed Martin that includes up to 25 missions over the next five years. The mission carried Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 tech demo with a goal to prove out the risk-reduction and pathfinding efforts the company has done for its multi-mission satellite bus.
About the payload
Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 Technology Demonstrator is the latest in a series of self-funded missions by the company to demonstrate the maturity of new technology on orbit and reduce risk for their customers. The LM 400 tech demo was specifically built to showcase the company’s pathfinding efforts for its LM 400 mid-sized, multi-mission satellite bus, and to demonstrate the space vehicle’s operational capabilities on orbit for potential customers. As a platform, Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 is the company’s most flexible satellite bus, capable of serving military, commercial or civil customers. It can be customized to host a variety of missions, including remote sensing, communications, imaging and radar – and operate in any orbit.
Source: Firefly Aerospace
