Alpha (launch vehicle)

2021: The military detonated the first missile launched by the US-Ukrainian company Firefly

On September 5, 2021, the US-Ukrainian company Firefly Aerospace published a detailed video of the take-off and subsequent explosion of the Alpha launch vehicle. The company noted that although the launch did not end in orbit, it became an important stage for the team.

The launch of the Alpha rocket was carried out on September 3, 2021 from the site of the Vandenberg California Air Force Base and was originally supposed to take place at 04:00 Moscow time, but during the countdown the launch was postponed for an unknown reason. The launch was repeated almost an hour later and at 04:59 Moscow time the launch vehicle successfully launched. The first two and a half minutes of the flight were successful, but then an explosion occurred, as a result of which the rocket was destroyed by decision of the US Space Forces.

The military blew up the first missile launched by the US-Ukrainian company Firefly

The cause of the accident of the Firefly carrier on its Facebook page was revealed by the State Space Agency of Ukraine (GKAU) on September 3, 2021. The report says that "after the launch, an emergency occurred that led to the loss of the rocket and cargo."

When launching, the rocket encountered problems during the operation of the first stage and was unable to enter orbit, the GKAU said in a statement.

The rocket was supposed to deliver to orbit the projects of the winners of the specialized DREAM program aimed at promoting the exact sciences. In addition to satellites developed by Western universities and non-profit organizations in the framework of 26 projects from seven countries of the world, children's drawings were also on board space transport.

Work on Alpha has been underway since 2014. The missile belongs to the light category of launch vehicles and at the same time is the largest representative of its class: for example, its height is estimated at 29 m.

Firefly Aerospace belongs to a citizen of Ukraine Maxim Polyakov. It is developing small and medium-sized light-class launch vehicles designed to launch cargo into orbit from 600 kg to 1 ton.% ^[1]]

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