Latest news with #BobBehnken
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California rocket launch: Firefly to investigate 'mishap' during test for Lockheed Martin
A rocket launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base did not go to plan after the spacecraft experienced a midair "mishap." Firefly Aerospace, the Texas-based spaceflight company that manufactured the rocket in question, said the issue prevented a prototype satellite owned by Lockheed Martin from reaching orbit following an early-morning takeoff April 29. Instead, the satellite crashed into the Pacific Ocean with part of the rocket. The failed mission was Firefly's sixth flight of its Alpha rocket, which it is developing for commercial launches to compete in a market long dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The company also achieved a major victory earlier in 2025 when it landed a spacecraft on the moon in March as part of a mission funded by NASA. Firefly provided a live stream of the Tuesday, April 29, launch as its Alpha rocket ascended into low-Earth orbit following a takeoff at 6:37 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. But during the webcast, several particles could be seen flying off the rocket during stage separation as the second stage propelled Lockheed's satellite further into space, Reuters reported. While the Lockheed satellite remained intact, a camera on the second stage showed its engine firing without its nozzle. The mission, known as "message in a booster," was the first of a planned 25 launches in the next five years under an agreement between Firefly and Lockheed Martin. The Alpha rocket's payload was a Lockheed demonstration satellite called LM 400 Technology Demonstrator, which is meant to advance space technologies for both commercial and military customers, like the Pentagon. 'Our customers have told us they need rapid advancement of new mission capabilities,' Bob Behnken, a director at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement at the time. 'This agreement with Firefly further diversifies our access to space, allowing us to continue quickly flight demonstrating the cutting-edge technology we are developing for them." The Alpha rocket itself is classified as a small-lift launch vehicle capable of carrying more than 2,200 pounds of cargo to orbit. Firefly said in a mission update that it will investigate the cause of the "mishap" with Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial launches. Engineers believe the problem occurred during separation of Alpha's core stage booster with its second stage less than three minutes into the flight. The faulty separation "impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle, putting the vehicle in a lower than planned orbit," Firefly wrote in an update on social media site X. In an afternoon update, Firefly said the loss of the nozzle reduced the engine's thrust, preventing the the upper stage from reaching orbit and causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean north of Antarctica with the Lockheed satellite. Firefly made a name for itself earlier this year when its Blue Ghost lunar lander became the second-ever commercial spacecraft to make it to the surface of the moon. After launching Jan. 15, 2025, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft managed to touch down about six weeks later on March 3 on the moon's Earth-facing side on a mission to deploy 10 NASA science instruments. The ensuing 14 days of surface operations were meant to help the U.S. space agency pave the way for humans to return in the years ahead under its Artemis program. This article has been updated to add new information. Contributing: Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Vandenberg launch: Firefly to investigate 'mishap' during rocket test
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lockheed loses experimental satellite after Firefly launch mishap
A launch anomaly on board Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket resulted in the loss of a Lockheed Martin spacecraft designed to demonstrate new satellite technologies. The mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on Tuesday morning, went south sometime after the rocket's first stage separated and before the ignition of Alpha's second stage. The mishap caused the vehicle to lose its engine nozzle extension, significantly reducing its thrust and making it unable to reach its destination in orbit. Firefly initially reported the satellite had reached a lower orbit, but later confirmed that the spacecraft returned to Earth, making impact in the Pacific Ocean. 'The team is working closely with our customers and the [Federal Aviation Administration] to conduct an investigation and determine root cause of the anomaly,' Firefly said in a statement. Lockheed's self-funded mission was designed to test the capabilities of its LM 400 satellite bus — an adaptable, multimission system that can operate in a variety of orbits. The spacecraft has onboard data processing, a modular architecture and is compatible with several launch configurations. Past missions have informed spacecraft design plans and helped improve Lockheed's launch process. In an April 7 briefing with reporters, Bob Behnken, the company's vice president of exploration, products and technology, told reporters the company's goal for the mission was to understand the 'full lifetime experience' of the satellite. 'It's important for us to exercise an LM 400 through the whole lifespace in preparation for those … mission needs that our customer has,' he said. Lockheed spokesman Chip Eschenfelder said in a statement Tuesday issued after the failed launch that the company will work with Firefly to determine the cause of the mishap. 'Navigating risk and going fast are part of these self-funded demonstrations, and the knowledge we've gained already from the LM 400 production and processing will also benefit future customer missions,' he said. Tuesday's mishap follows a separate anomaly that occurred in December 2023 when an Alpha vehicle carrying a different experimental Lockheed payload delivered the satellite to the wrong orbit. In June 2024, Lockheed selected Firefly's Alpha to fly as many as 25 missions through 2029. The contract commits the longtime defense firm to 15 launch reservations and 10 optional missions.
