Firefly Alpha Launch Scheduled for Thursday Evening From Vandenberg
Firefly Aerospace will attempt the maiden flight of its Alpha booster later today from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The window for the rideshare mission extends from 6 to 10 p.m. PDT (0100-0500 UTC on Friday). A livestream of the launch will be available through Everyday Astronaut beginning one hour before the scheduled liftoff.
The rideshare mission will carry a number of payloads, which are show below.
| Payload | Purpose | Company/ Organization | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| DREAM | CubeSat deployer | Firefly | USA |
| BSS1 (DFAST Demonstrator) | Technology demonstration | Benchmark Space | USA |
| CRESST DREAM COMET | Technology demonstration | University of Cambridge | UK |
| Firefly Capsule 1 | Education | Firefly | USA |
| FOSSASAT 1b | LoRa communications | FOSSA Systems | Spain |
| FOSSASAT 2 | Photography | FOSSA Systems | Spain |
| GENESIS L | Amateur radio/Propulsion | AMSAT-EA | Spain |
| GENESIS N | Amateur radio/Propulsion | AMSAT-EA | Spain |
| Hiapo | Thermospheric research | Hawaii Science and Technology Museum | USA |
| NPS-CENETIX-Orbital 1 | Technology demonstration | AT&T / NPS | USA |
| PICOBUS-1 | PocketQube deployer | Libre Space Foundation | Greece |
| QUBIK 1 | Amateur radio | Libre Space Foundation | Greece |
| QUBIK 2 | Amateur radio | Libre Space Foundation | Greece |
| Spinnaker3 | Technology demonstration | Purdue University | USA |
| TIS Serenity | Education | Teachers in Space, Inc. | USA |
Source: Wikipedia
The two-stage, 29 meter (95 foot) tall Alpha booster is capable of delivery one metric ton (2,205 lb) to low Earth orbit and 630 kg (1,389 lb) to a 500 km (311 mile) high sun-synchronous orbit. Firefly is charging $15 million for a dedicated launch.
