The Alpha Firefly Rocket Fails To Fly After Engine Number 2 Dies

Alpha Firefly rocket, failed to fly because engine number 2 died. (photo: doc. firefly)

JAKARTA – The Alpha Firefly rocket exploded mid-flight on Thursday, September 2 but the company posted a new video on Sunday, September 5 and provided more details on what happened.

"Although the vehicle is not in orbit, the day marks a major milestone for our team", the company tweeted. "We showed that we 'arrived' as a company capable of building and launching rockets".

The Alpha, a two-stage rocket, lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California at 9:59 p.m. ET on Thursday or 8:59 a.m. WIN Friday, carrying a personal satellite payload. It was the company's first mission. But two minutes after liftoff, the rocket began to tilt horizontally, failing to reach its maximum aerodynamic pressure.

According to Firefly, the rocket made it past the launch pad, but about 15 seconds into the flight, engine number 2 died. The vehicle continued its ascent and was able to maintain control for about 145 seconds, a Firefly source said. However, the climb speed is slow because it lacks thrust from any of its four engines (which are turned off).

“Vehicles are challenged to maintain control without engine thrust vector 2. The Alpha is able to keep up at subsonic speeds, but when moving through transonic and supersonic flight, where control is most challenging, triple engine thrust vector control is insufficient. The vehicle fell out of control", according to a Firefly source. “The range stops flights using the explosive Flight Termination System (FTS). The rocket didn't explode by itself".

It is investigating why engine 2 died early and says it will report the root cause once it completes the investigation. "Working closely with the FAA and our partners on Space Launch Delta 30, we will return to launch Alpha Flight 2 as soon as possible", the company tweeted.

Kuo added that LEO satellite communication is a technology that is comparable to mm Wave 5G in terms of its impact on the network industry, Apple can take advantage of both technologies. Kuo said Apple was optimistic about the satellite communications trend and formed a special team for research and development of related technologies some time ago.

However, this report has not been officially confirmed by Apple, so it's worth waiting until the iPhone 13 launches this September.