On April 29 at 19:37 Astana time, the American aerospace company Firefly Aerospace launched its Alpha rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. However, the launch was unsuccessful, reports the national portal “Adyrna.”
According to foreign media, the rocket’s first stage exploded two and a half minutes after liftoff. The explosion damaged the nozzle of the second stage engine, making it impossible to deliver the payload — an experimental LM400 satellite platform developed by Lockheed Martin — into orbit.
Shortly after the incident, the rocket’s second stage and the payload fell into the Pacific Ocean, near Antarctica.
This was the sixth launch of the Alpha rocket by Firefly Aerospace.
