The first stage of Firefly’s Alpha Flight 7 rocket exploded during testing. Proper safety protocols were followed, and all personnel are safe. The company is assessing the impact to its stage test stand, and no other facilities were impacted.
Firefly Aerospace’s first stage booster for its seventh Alpha rocket flight exploded on September 29, 2025, during a routine acceptance test at the company’s Briggs, Texas facility, destroying the booster and damaging the test stand with no injuries reported. The incident was around 3 p.m. local time, has prompted an investigation into the anomaly and indefinitely delays the commercial mission planned for Vandenberg Space Force Base. Firefly was founded in 2017 by CEO Tom Markusic. The Alpha rocket has had six prior flights with mixed success. The stock has dropped about 25%.
They offer flights at $19 million for a dedicated launch.
In October 2016, Kemp, together with Adam London, founded the startup Astra with the aim to develop a small-lift orbital rocket that will carry critical technology to improve life on Earth from space”. In July 2021, Kemp and London stated that their goal is to reach daily rocket launches. Chris Kemp was critical of Firefly.
Something went boom 💥 and now I’m starting to think that Chris Kemp was right. @Astra pic.twitter.com/A3UyYA25U2
— FranciscoSpace5🚀🔬 (@FranciscoSpace5) September 29, 2025
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
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Yep. space. Still hard.
Comes to emphasize SpaceX is such an odd anomaly. Most space launcher companies never make it out of this critical phase between being created and launching something.