Alpha Flight 7 reaches orbit

Firefly's Alpha Flight 7 reached orbit from Vandenberg, delivered a Lockheed Martin demonstrator payload, and validated upgrades ahead of the Block II configuration.

Alpha lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base and completed orbital insertion for the Stairway to Seven mission. The flight delivered a Lockheed Martin demonstrator payload, relit the second-stage engine, and tested an in-house avionics suite plus enhanced thermal protection ahead of the full Block II vehicle planned for Flight 8.

Headline metrics

Liftoff	5:50 p.m. PDT
Payload	Lockheed Martin demonstrator
Stage-two relight	Completed

Highlights

Orbital deliveryAlpha inserted the customer demonstrator payload into orbit.
Block II pathfinderThe mission validated avionics and thermal-protection changes for the next configuration.
Engine relightThe second-stage engine completed an in-space relight during the mission.

Resources

Firefly mission releasefireflyspace.com