A privately designed, unmanned rocket built to carry satellites was destroyed in an explosive fireball after suffering an « anomaly » off the California coast during its first attempt at reaching Earth’s orbit.
September 3,2021 A privately designed, unmanned rocket built to carry satellites was destroyed in an explosive fireball after suffering an « anomaly » off the California coast during its first attempt at reaching Earth’s orbit. Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket was « terminated » over the Pacific Ocean shortly after its 6:59 p.m. Thursday liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to a base statement. Video from the San Luis Obispo Tribune showed the explosion. Firefly said an « anomaly » occurred during the first-stage ascent that « resulted in the loss of the vehicle » about two minutes,30 seconds into the flight. Vandenberg said a team of investigators will try to determine what caused the failure.
