Keep an eye out for this launch this week

Firefly Aerospace is scheduling their next launch toward the end of this week. 

This week, Firefly said that its next Alpha rocket underwent a successful 20-second static fire test. This clears the way for the rocket to make a launch attempt no earlier than February 18 from its launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 

The mission, which has been given the cutesy mission name "Stairway to Seven," is currently scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20 at 7:20 PM EST from Vandenberg SFB. (Link to where a video will be streamed on that page)

Au revoir Block I … It’s an important mission, because the previous Alpha launch, in April 2025, ended in failure when stage separation damaged one of the rocket’s upper stage engines and prevented the mission from reaching orbit. Moreover, the company lost the first stage of the flight in September during an accident in Texas. The upcoming flight, “Stairway to Seven,” will be the final flight of Block I of the Alpha booster. 

Firefly has been a subject here many times, for both their lunar lander missions launched by SpaceX and for their Alpha launch vehicle that is being developed to replace Northrop Grumman's Antares 330 launch vehicle that has had its cargo drone missions to the Space Station cancelled because of the Russian engines it originally used.

Northrup Grumman October 2022 rendering of the new Antares 330 booster from Firefly with a Cygnus cargo vehicle mounted to the top.