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Space

Firefly Mission Loses Lockheed Martin LM 400 Satellite in Anomaly

By Rachel Jewett

Tuesday, April 29th, 2025

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Firefly Mission Loses Lockheed Martin LM 400 Satellite in Anomaly

Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket on the pad before the April 29 mission, which suffered an anomaly. Photo: Trevor Mahlamann / Firefly Aerospace

A Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket suffered an anomaly during a Tuesday launch, losing the payload for customer Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The Alpha FLTA006 mission launched at 6:37 am PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was carrying Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 tech demonstration satellite, which fell into the Pacific Ocean. Firefly Aerospace issued a post-launch update, reporting the vehicle had a nominal liftoff and first stage flight. But the rocket experienced a mishap between stage separation and second stage ignition. Firefly said this “led…

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