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Stairway to Seven

© Firefly Aerospace / Jack Beyer

All launches
Firefly Aerospace

Stairway to Seven

Success

Firefly Alpha
T-minus to liftoff

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Thursday March 12 2026, 00:50:00 UTC
StatusSuccess
VehicleFirefly Alpha
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
PadSpace Launch Complex 2W
Loading map…

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.

Quick facts

VehicleFirefly Alpha
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
PadSpace Launch Complex 2W
SiteVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
WindowThursday March 12 2026, 00:50:00 UTC→Thursday March 12 2026, 02:50:00 UTC

Vehicle

FamilyFirefly Alpha
Launch CodexDossier

Every source for this mission in one place — news, social, references, notes & the exact timeline.

Explore
Acquiring satellite view…
General trajectory
Space Launch Complex 2W
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Launching
Southwest
225° · SW
34.756, -120.622

Orbital elements (TLE)

Orbit
Apogee412 km
Perigee242 km
Period91.1 min
Inclination125.19°

Launch heading 225° · SW from Stairway to Seven.

OrbitStairway to Seven› conelow
1 70038U 26046A 26071.04031250 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 9997
2 70038 125.1950 213.9369 0126771 147.1502 000.0000 15.81251994 05

Pre-launch TLEs from Dillon's Space Page. Estimated before flight — the real orbit is confirmed post-launch.