Firefly Sends off Alpha Block I with FLTA007
Firefly Aerospace completed a successful return to flight on Wednesday, March 11, bringing their Alpha rocket back online after a mishap in April of last year. The positive outcome of this mission, named “Stairway to Seven,” closes an important chapter in the company’s history. Despite its rocky launch record, Alpha’s Block I configuration made Firefly a rare survivor among small commercial launch companies, and the first flight of its Block II variant could introduce a matured Firefly in 2026.
Alpha lifted off from SLC-2W at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:50 PM Pacific Time, after several previous attempts scrubbed due to high winds and minor technical faults. The rocket completed a clean first stage ascent, stage separation, and second stage burn, reaching the target orbit just over 8 minutes into flight. As a test flight, FLTA007 primarily aimed to demonstrate a successful recovery from the failure of FLTA006, though the mission also carried a payload for Lockheed Martin. Firefly confirmed in a statement that all objectives were met.
Firefly’s Alpha rocket has not had the cleanest launch record in its five-year history. Out of seven flights, only three—including FLTA007—have been fully successful. The vehicle was lost completely on its first and sixth launches. Two other missions stranded their payloads in lower orbits than planned, causing the satellites to reenter Earth’s atmosphere weeks or months later. The launch campaign for FLTA007 was also marred by an explosion of its first stage during testing in September of 2025; Firefly identified and mitigated an issue during the integration process, a fix that is borne out by the success of Wednesday’s launch.
Despite its troubled past, Alpha is a notable success in the American commercial launch landscape. Emerging from a once crowded market of small-lift launch vehicles, Alpha is one of just two still flying in 2026, alongside Rocket Lab’s Electron. Alpha’s peers included Astra’s Rocket 3, scrapped after an abysmal launch record, Relativity’s Terran 1, abandoned for a larger vehicle after its only flight ended in failure, and ABL’s RS1, abandoned along with the company’s commercial launch ambitions after one failed flight.
Alpha’s survival, and indeed the survival of Firefly Aerospace, is attributable in part to the company’s diversification into other markets. Like Rocket Lab and Relativity, Firefly now has a larger, reusable launch vehicle in the works. However, the company has also found work with NASA’s Artemis Program, achieving the first successful landing of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, and securing additional flights in the coming years. Still, Alpha’s initial record leaves room for improvement. The performance of its Block II variant, which will debut on FLTA008, will set the tone for the next chapter in Firefly’s history.
