@Firefly_Space nice night for a launch!
https://twitter.com/firefly_space/status/1808750140947124327QuoteAND the Firefly team successfully completed a second stage relight and nominal plane change following deployment. Congratulations to the entire mission team!
AND the Firefly team successfully completed a second stage relight and nominal plane change following deployment. Congratulations to the entire mission team!
From Glendale Arizonahttps://twitter.com/rebilasphoto/status/1808720555807285688
We were honored to provide a rocket light show to kick off the Fourth of July - Happy Independence Day from our Firefly family to yours. #NoiseOfSummerPhoto Credit: Shawn McCormick I Phoenix, Arizona
8 of 9 expected objects from the Firefly launch cataloged by SpaceTrack in a 490 x 525 km x 97.3 deg sun-synchronous orbit with 19:45 local time orbit plane
Firefly's Alpha rocket engines roar to life! Ignition illuminated the surrounding fog on SLC-2 and continued through a stunning California sunset carrying a NASA CubeSat payload. Congratulations to the @Firefly_Space team on this Independence Day!
Firefly Aerospace Successfully Launches Alpha FLTA005 Noise of Summer Mission for NASAFirefly team completed orbital insertion, payload deployment, second stage relight, and orbital plane changeVANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif., – July 4, 2024 – Firefly Aerospace, an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced it successfully launched its Alpha Flight 5 (FLTA005) rocket and completed the payload deployment sequence as part of the company’s Venture-Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract with NASA.The mission, called Noise of Summer, lifted off from Firefly’s SLC-2 launch site at the Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:04 p.m. PDT on July 3, 2024. Following payload deployment, Firefly successfully performed a second stage relight and plane change maneuver to further test and validate Alpha’s on-orbit capabilities.“The Firefly team knocked it out of the park,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “As a NASA vendor for both launch and lunar services, we look forward to continuing this partnership and supporting the agency’s larger space exploration goals from Earth to the Moon and beyond.”As a NASA VCLS Demo 2 task order, the successful mission further validates Alpha’s capabilities to provide small satellite launches for NASA on a recurring basis. The mission’s CubeSats were selected through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) that provides U.S. educational institutions and nonprofits with low-cost access to space.“The launch of Firefly Aerospace’s demonstration mission marks one more way NASA is innovating for the benefit of humanity,” said Hamilton Fernandez, mission manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program. “NASA is using CubeSat missions to demonstrate the capability of small rockets and build relationships with this new part of the U.S. launch vehicle industry.”At the time of this release, ongoing activities are underway by NASA and the CubeSat teams as they work to acquire signals for all satellites. Additional updates will be posted to the mission webpage.Looking ahead, Firefly is in the final testing phase for its next Alpha launch, FLTA006, in support of a dedicated commercial mission for Lockheed Martin. The Firefly team is concurrently ramping up for a responsive on-orbit Elytra mission that will launch on Alpha FLTA007 later this year while also working to complete the final readiness milestones for its first Blue Ghost mission to the Moon launching in Q4 2024.
completed the payload deployment sequence
Quote from: gongora on 07/04/2024 07:01 pm8 of 9 expected objects from the Firefly launch cataloged by SpaceTrack in a 490 x 525 km x 97.3 deg sun-synchronous orbit with 19:45 local time orbit planeFrom the attached picture we see seven objects in a 490x520 km orbit and one object in a 450x520 km orbit. Presumably, the former are seven cubesats and the latter is the second stage after the plane change. The cubesat that is missing could be CatSat, which was not confirmed as having been released during the webcast.
Congrats to @Firefly_Space on their 5th successful launch "Noise of Summer"! Voyager's Exploration team proudly led the satellite integration for all 8 cubesats on board, supporting @NASA's mission. Excited for the data these incredible payloads will bring!Read more:
5 Jul, 2024ExplorationVoyager & Satellite Rideshare: Noise of SummerCongratulations to our friends at Firefly Aerospace for the company’s fifth launch (dubbed “Noise of Summer”)! Voyager’s Exploration team proudly led the satellite integration for all eight cubesats on board on behalf of the mission’s primary customer, NASA. Firefly’s Alpha vehicle lifted off at 9:04 p.m. PDT on July 3, 2024 and all eight satellites were successfully deployed.The “Noise of Summer” payloads were sponsored by the NASA Cubesat Launch Initiative (CSLI) Launch Services Program (LSP), a team that Voyager proudly works closely with to support the launch and deployment of university satellites from the International Space Station, and now on rideshare missions. Customers on this mission included:CatSat (University of Arizona): CatSat is a technology demonstration of an inflatable antenna for high-speed communications.KUbeSat-1 (University of Kansas): The main payload on KUbeSat-1 is the Primary Cosmic Ray Detector which will use a new method to measure the energy and species of primary cosmic rays hitting the Earth.MESAT1 (University of Maine): The science payloads are climate focused and include ALBEDO, IMAGER, and HAB. These will identify urban heat islands, determine concentration of phytoplankton in water bodies, and help predict harmful algal blooms.R5-S4 and R5-S2.2.0 (NASA Johnson Space Center): R5-S4 and R5-S2 are the first in a line of R5 spacecrafts launched to orbit that will be tests of a new, lean process for building a spacecraft bus.Serenity (Teachers in Space): Serenity 3 offers low-cost opportunities to test educational experiments in space. It has a suite of data sensors and a camera that will send data back to Earth. Licensed as an amateur radio broadcaster, Serenity can communicate with radios on the ground.SOC-i (University of Washington): SOC-I is a tech demo mission of attitude control technology. One of the payloads is a guidance and control system called SOAR, or SOC-i’s Optimal Attitude Reorientation. The second payload, CMOS, is a camera that serves as an instrument to demonstrate SOC-i’s pointing abilities.TechEdSat-11 (TES-11) (NASA Ames Research Center): TES-11 contains several technology demonstrations, including advanced communications, radiation sensor suite, experimental solar panels, an exo-brake, and BrainStack-3Voyager has successfully integrated and supported the launch of over 350 satellites and we’re proud to be part of this momentous launch for Firefly. Our team provided end-to-end support for NASA and the educational customers on board – working closely with Firefly – ensuring they were ready for flight. This included everything from mission planning, safety reviews, fit checks, vibration tests, and eventually integration onto the launch vehicle itself.Congratulations again to Firefly and all of the customers on board as they begin collecting data. We can’t wait for the next mission.
Another liftoff image from @Firefly_Space’s fifth Alpha mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Eight CubeSats were chosen through @NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) which gives satellite developers low-cost access to research in space. #NoiseofSummer
I surely enjoyed watching this launch. I have two remaining questions however. During the launch broadcast it was announced that Alpha's stage 2 Lightning engine would relight to conduct a two-burn orbit insertion ahead of payload deployment [see first screenshot]. The Lightning engine never performed a second burn however, and the payloads were deployed in the orbit the initial stage 2 burn achieved. Why was the initial flight plan changed?My second question has to do with payload deployment. After the planned deployment of CatSat - which was not shown live because it was supposed to occur during loss of signal - we got video showing a black cube (with a white top featuring a round hole) loosely bungling over one of the already opened payload dispensers while seemingly still being attached to it [see second screenshot]. I immediately thought this black cube was a cubesat that failed to deploy, which seemed even more likely given that their never was confirmation of the deployment of CatSat. The commentators never clarified what this object was, and since none of the deployments was actually shown during the broadcast it was difficult to gauge what really happened. What you can see in my screenshot is that a a similar payload dispenser right next to it was also already opened, but did not have this strange cube above it. So was this object the CatSat, and if not, what was it?I hope someone has some answers. Thanks in advance.
That's a wrap for tonight's coverage of Alpha #FLTA005 #NoiseOfSummer. After expected deployment, @NASA's CubeSat teams are now awaiting acquisition of signal....AND the Firefly team successfully completed a second stage relight and nominal plane change following deployment. Congratulations to the entire mission team!Photo Credit: Firefly Aerospace/ @seanparkerphoto
Quote from: Steven on 07/09/2024 12:45 amI surely enjoyed watching this launch. I have two remaining questions however. During the launch broadcast it was announced that Alpha's stage 2 Lightning engine would relight to conduct a two-burn orbit insertion ahead of payload deployment [see first screenshot]. The Lightning engine never performed a second burn however, and the payloads were deployed in the orbit the initial stage 2 burn achieved. Why was the initial flight plan changed?My second question has to do with payload deployment. After the planned deployment of CatSat - which was not shown live because it was supposed to occur during loss of signal - we got video showing a black cube (with a white top featuring a round hole) loosely bungling over one of the already opened payload dispensers while seemingly still being attached to it [see second screenshot]. I immediately thought this black cube was a cubesat that failed to deploy, which seemed even more likely given that their never was confirmation of the deployment of CatSat. The commentators never clarified what this object was, and since none of the deployments was actually shown during the broadcast it was difficult to gauge what really happened. What you can see in my screenshot is that a a similar payload dispenser right next to it was also already opened, but did not have this strange cube above it. So was this object the CatSat, and if not, what was it?I hope someone has some answers. Thanks in advance.The successful restart test took place *after* satellite deployment. The payload was light (eight CubeSats), allowing a direct insertion. The restart test was an important milestone that checked fixes after the FLT0004 failure. Basically, the webcast caption was incorrect. Read the Firefly message below.https://x.com/firefly_space/status/1808750140947124327 - Ed Kyle
stage 2 Lightning engine would relight to conduct a two-burn orbit insertion ahead of payload deployment
