Firefly to continue responsive launch operations for future Alpha missions

ORLANDO, Fla. — Firefly Aerospace plans to make the responsive launch operations it demonstrated for the U.S. Space Force last year the norm for upcoming launches of its Alpha rocket.
Firefly launched the Victus Nox mission for the Space Force Sept. 14, successfully placing a satellite built by Millennium Space into orbit. The launch took place 27 hours after the Space Force gave Firefly formal notice to carry out the launch.
The company completed that work, which included integrating the satellite with the launch vehicle and setting up the rocket on the launch pad, within 24 hours, the goal for the mission. The company then waited three hours at the request of the Space Force “to get the exact right launch point” for the mission, said Brett Alexander, chief revenue officer of Firefly, during a Feb. 1 presentation at the SpaceCom conference here.
While Victus Nox was a demonstration of responsive launch capabilities, he said the company planned to follow similar...

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