On April 20, Firefly Aerospace launched a new Alpha small rocket. It ended in failure for a very unusual reason — due to the loss of the second stage engine nozzle.
Alpha was initially scheduled to launch back in March. However, due to spaceport congestion at Vandenberg Air Force Base, it had to be rescheduled several times. The mission’s only payload was an LM 400 technology demonstrator built by Lockheed Martin. It is a universal satellite platform designed for both military and private customers. It can be customized to perform a wide range of different tasks, including remote sensing of the Earth, communications, radar, and is capable of operating in any orbit.
The mission plan called for LM 400 to undergo a series of tests after completing on-orbit checks, and then test the SmartSat software that allows for reconfiguration of the spacecraft system. After 30 days of flight, the satellite was scheduled to be deorbited.
However, LM 400 never reached orbit. The accident occurred during the phase of stage separation. A few seconds after separation, the first stage collapsed. This caused damage to the second stage engine — it lost most of its nozzle. As a result, its thrust was greatly reduced compared to its design thrust.
The rocket’s automation tried to correct the positions and pull the cargo into orbit. Alpha managed to reach an altitude of 320 km. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell estimated that it was literally a few seconds short of reaching its first cosmic speed. As a result, the stage and satellite fell in the South Pacific Ocean near Antarctica. Firefly later officially confirmed the loss of the cargo.
The loss of the satellite was unpleasant news for the company. This was Alpha’s sixth flight. To date, only the third and fifth missions have been fully successful. The debut flight ended in failure; during the second and fourth missions, the cargoes were launched into lower-than-planned orbits.
According to Spacenews
