A private aerospace company, Firefly Aerospace, planned to conduct a test orbital launch of its Alpha missile today; however, this could not be done because the launch engines were interrupted almost immediately after their launch.
As part of the test launch, the Alpha rocket was to start from the U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on September 30, 03:51 local time, but almost immediately after the launch the engines stopped operating and the 29-metre carrier remained at the launch site.
" says Firefly's statement.
In Firefly, the current mission was named Alpha Flight 2: To The Black. It is clear from the name that this is the second attempt by the company to launch its missile in orbit. The first attempt took place last September and ended in failure after one of Reaver's engines ceased to operate shortly after the launch.
At this stage, the Alpha rocket is launched without a payload, but it has several small satellites on board, which the carrier is expected to take to low Earth orbit. According to available data, the Alpha rocket is capable of delivering 1,170 kg of payload to low Earth orbit and one launch cost $15 million.