The company is livestreaming the launch live on YouTube starting 60 minutes before launch: Firefly said the main purpose of Thursday’s inaugural launch is to make sure its employees are on the right track, using the correct inputs and working toward the goal of putting other projects into space.
“The real purpose of this mission is to get to space, to get as much data as we possibly can on ascent so that we can come back again on the next flight and do it even better,” said Lauren Lyons, Firefly Aerospace Chief Operating Officer. Firefly has another rocket in development called Beta, as well as a reusable rocket plane called Gamma and a Space Utility Vehicle that’s designed to take payloads beyond the range of typical launch vehicles. Its Blue Ghost lunar lander was selected by NASA to deliver a payload to the moon in 2023.
Thursday’s launch will deliver a payload called DREAM, or the Dedicated Research and Education Accelerator Mission, a Firefly initiative to send academic and educational payloads into space for free.
Firefly’s Alpha rocket is designed to address the needs of the small satellite market. The company expects to eventually offer Alpha launches twice per month. Two weeks ago, the company performed a static fire test of the launch vehicle, which officials said was a success.
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