The space company Firefly launched the so-called Alpha rocket on Thursday evening, but exploded just a couple of minutes due to an “anomaly”.
The test flight video shows the unmanned rocket soaring into space for more than two minutes after the success of its explosion.
Then the rocket reached supersonic speed, according to the company’s mission control audio, that is, it passed the speed of sound.
Moments later, it exploded.
“Alpha experienced an anomaly during the first stage of the ascent that resulted in the loss of the vehicle. As we gather more information, additional details will be provided,” the Austin, Texas private company said in a tweet.
The 95-foot-high rocket was launched from the Vandenberg space force base in California just before 10 p.m. ET.
It carried nearly a dozen payloads and aimed to reach a low Earth orbit.
Firefly, which is supposed to be worth more than $ 1 billion, was founded in 2014 and went bankrupt in 2017 after a key investor left. The private company re-emerged as Firefly Aerospace later that year.
The company hopes to capture a piece of the fast-growing small satellite launch market with its Alpha rocket. The spacecraft is designed to supply up to 2,200 pounds of payload to a low Earth orbit on missions that cost $ 15 million each, according to the company.
There is a lot of competition in the space, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, Relativity Space, and Astra Space, which were recently made public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.
In addition to its Alpha rocket, Firefly has said it plans to build a larger rocket called Beta.