Firefly prepares Alpha Flight 7 stairway to seven mission

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026

Firefly Aerospace is preparing its next Alpha rocket mission, Flight 7 "Stairway to Seven", as a dedicated return-to-flight test from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Alpha FLTA007 rocket will launch no earlier than February 18 on a mission focused on achieving nominal performance of both the first and second stages rather than deploying an operational payload.

Flight 7 is the final Alpha mission in the rocket's current configuration and will pave the way for a Block II upgrade on Flight 8 that is intended to improve reliability and manufacturability across the vehicle.

Firefly plans to lengthen the Alpha rocket by 7 feet, consolidate batteries and avionics built in house, enhance the thermal protection system, and strengthen carbon composite structures using automated manufacturing equipment as part of the Block II configuration.

On Flight 7, the company will test and validate key systems, including the in-house avionics and thermal improvements, to build flight heritage and confirm lessons learned before the full configuration change is introduced.

Mission preparations have recently advanced with a successful 20 second static fire conducted on February 6 at the Vandenberg launch pad, clearing a major milestone ahead of the planned launch window later in the month.

Firefly reports that after completing integration of the Alpha first and second stages, the Flight 7 vehicle is now vertical on the pad at Vandenberg, where teams will fuel the rocket and run prelaunch checks to confirm all systems are ready.

The path to Flight 7 included resolving an earlier ground test anomaly: during a first stage test on September 29, 2025 at Firefly's Briggs, Texas facility, the rocket experienced an event that destroyed the stage but caused no injuries and left surrounding facilities unaffected.

Following a detailed review, the company traced the incident to a process error during stage one integration that allowed a minute hydrocarbon contamination, which in turn led to a combustion event in one of the engines during the test.

According to Firefly, the Alpha stage test stand structure remained intact, and the company used the event to reinforce its focus on fundamentals and strengthen its culture around managing the complexities of rocket systems.

Firefly implemented corrective actions that included tighter inspection requirements for fluid systems, optimized first stage sensors, and additional automated aborts to catch off-nominal conditions more quickly.

The company also held a daylong quality standdown in which production, integration, and test teams reviewed and optimized procedures, committed to regular future exercises, and embedded process improvements to support long term reliability and quality.

To keep Flight 7 on track, Firefly reassigned another Alpha first stage from its production line for the mission, while the second stage had already been delivered to Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg.

The replacement first stage is being prepared for shipment to Vandenberg, where it will be integrated with the second stage and put through a static fire campaign before launch, subject to range availability between late fourth quarter and early first quarter schedule windows.

In parallel, Firefly is upgrading its Alpha stage test stand at the Briggs facility, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2026 to support future ground test campaigns for the Block II configuration.

The company emphasizes that the September 2025 incident did not arise from a design flaw but from a correctable process error, and it frames its approach as one of rigorous testing before flight to strengthen system reliability with each campaign.