All launches

Stairway to Seven

Firefly AlphaFirefly AerospaceSpace Launch Complex 2W
Thursday, March 12, 2026 · 12:50 AM UTC
Mission brief

The mission

Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 is a test flight and return-To-Flight for the launch vehicle after its April 2025 launch failure. It will test and validate key systems ahead of Firefly’s Block II configuration upgrade on Flight 8 that’s designed to enhance reliability and manufacturability across the vehicle. Flight 7 is the last flown in Alpha’s current configuration and will test multiple Block II subsystems, including the in-house avionics and thermal improvements, to gain flight heritage and validate lessons learned ahead of the full configuration upgrade on Flight 8. This launch also delivered a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.

PayloadStairway to Seven
OrbitLEO
CustomerFirefly Aerospace
Stages2
PadSpace Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Flight plan

Mission timeline

14 / 14100%
The range

Where it leaves Earth

Launch site

Ground vector

Site locked

Space Launch Complex 2W

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Global range
SITE LOCK
Latitude
34.756°N
Longitude
120.622°W

Can I see this?

Distance and a plain visibility call from a place you choose. Trajectory is not modeled — night launches travel farther across the sky than daylight ones.

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Range weather

Launch commit criteria

Clear
Watch
TrackingNo active constraints
Weather rules

Clear — tracking no weather issues at this time.

Primary concern
No weather issues
Rule count
0
Temperature
Not reported
Surface wind
Not reported
Window

12:50 AM UTC – 02:50 AM UTC

Hardware

Vehicle & provider

Vehicle

Firefly Alpha

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Height29.6 m
LEO Payload1,000 kg
Launches7
Successes4
Provider

Firefly Aerospace

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USA • Founded 2014

Reliability

Schedule history

No meaningful launch-time or status changes recorded.