Firefly Alpha malfunction deploys Lockheed Martin satellite into wrong orbit

A recent Firefly Alpha mission occurred malfunction in the rocket which led to satellite deployment into the wrong orbit.

On December 22, Firefly Aerospace fired its rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:32 p.m. Eastern. The launch was postponed from December 20 due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The vehicle was carrying an Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) payload developed by Lockheed Martin to demonstrate rapid delivery of on-orbit capabilities for US warfighters.

The secondary object of the mission was to demonstrate ‘responsive space capabilities’ by tracking and improving the total working hours required from the payload received to launch readiness.

The rocket liftoffed according to the plan and achieved a nominal flight pace. However, the second stage suffered malfunction during the circularization burn.

The rocket company published an official statement on this matter “Following SECO 1, Alpha’s scheduled stage two engine relight did not deliver the payload to its precise target orbit.”

Despite this massive on-launch, communication with the spacecraft has been established, and mission operations.

The ESA demonstrator payload integrated on a Terran Orbital Nebual small satellite bus. It was developed by Lockheed Martin’s Ignite organization.