Firefly Aerospace plans Alpha Block 2 rocket debut this summer
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · May 8
Firefly Aerospace plans Alpha Block 2 rocket debut this summer
1 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · May 8
CEO Jason Kim said on a 4 May earnings call the upgraded vehicle should fly on Flight 8 after Alpha’s March return to flight.
Block 2 adds stretched first and second stages plus avionics, battery and thermal protection upgrades aimed at improving reliability.
Alpha suffered two failures and two partial failures in its first six launches; Firefly has not named the Flight 8 customer and plans two further launches this year.
As SpaceX makes its own rockets obsolete, are Firefly's incremental upgrades enough to ensure its long-term survival in the brutal launch market?
With Chinese startups now replicating Starship's design, what does this mean for the future of America's commercial space launch industry?