Firefly Aerospace has pinpointed a minor hydrocarbon contamination as the root cause of a combustion event during a ground test of its Alpha Flight 7 rocket’s first stage in September at its Briggs test facility.
The incident, which resulted in the loss of the stage, stemmed from a process error during integration. The company emphasized that it was not a design flaw and has already implemented corrective measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. As such, they are back on track to launch their next Alpha rocket in the coming months.