Problem with Firefly's Alpha rocket puts Lockheed satellite in shallow orbit

The Manila Times

Problem with Firefly's Alpha rocket puts Lockheed satellite in shallow orbit  Firefly Aerospace said the sixth mission of its Alpha rocket suffered a mishap in space after launching from California on Tuesday putting a satellite owned by Lockheed Martin in a "lower than planned orbit," suggesting a potential mission failure.  Firefly said in a post on X that the mishap occurred during separation of Alpha's core stage booster with its second stage roughly two and a half minutes after liftoff. The faulty separation "impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle, putting the vehicle in a lower than planned orbit."  The company said it was working with Lockheed to determine the root cause of the failure. The mishap tallies four Alpha failures since its first flight in 2021 as Firefly, which achieved a breakthrough success in landing on the moon in March, tries to build its centerpiece launch business in a market dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.  FIREFLY AEROSPACE / REUTERS  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #fireflyaerospace

Transcript

00:00T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

00:21Ignition and return, couple bikes, I'm on the line, I'm on the line, I'm on the line.

00:45Max-Q.

00:51Continuing to go down range here.

01:12Two and a half minutes after liftoff.

01:15Coming up on...

01:17Stage separation.

01:17Miko.

01:19Stage recognition.

01:22General pressure looks nominal.

01:39Faring separation.

01:41Have a view from the vehicle here.

01:45You can see the fairings of Jettison.

01:47Yep.

01:48Otherwise, you couldn't see the earth.

01:49The limit of the earth in the background.

01:50A little bit of motion there.

01:56And there is that aft-facing view in the background there where the rocket just took off from.

02:03Here you can see the booster is no longer behind the rocket.

02:07I don't think we can see it in this shot.

02:09I suddenly wonder if that little dot up there is it.

02:11But this is the second stage looking backwards at the engine on the second stage.

02:17Is it a�리 and I know that it is a little bit harsh?

02:21Do it.

02:22Is it aordinate?

02:22Do it.

02:23Do it.

02:23Follow your mind.

02:23And it will.

02:23ак on the other side of the

02:41And with it.

02:41And with that noise of the threat,

02:43on the front there,

02:44and kind of move away,

02:45we're off the sewage on the there.

02:45I'll see you next time.

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