Firefly Aerospace
Stairway to Seven
SUCCESS
✓ Mission success
On 12 MAR · 00:50 UTC 2026, Firefly Alpha delivered Stairway to Seven to Low Earth Orbit.
- T-0 (flown)
- 12 MAR · 00:50 UTC
- Window
- 2 hr
- Rocket
- Firefly Alpha
- Operator
- Firefly Aerospace
- Pad
- Space Launch Complex 2W · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
- Payload
- Stairway to Seven
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbit
Mission
Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 is a test flight and return-To-Flight for the launch vehicle after its April 2025 launch failure. It will test and validate key systems ahead of Firefly’s Block II configuration upgrade on Flight 8 that’s designed to enhance reliability and manufacturability across the vehicle. Flight 7 is the last flown in Alpha’s current configuration and will test multiple Block II subsystems, including the in-house avionics and thermal improvements, to gain flight heritage and validate lessons learned ahead of the full configuration upgrade on Flight 8. This launch also delivered a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.