The booster stage for Firefly Aerospace's next Alpha rocket was destroyed Monday in a fiery accident on the company's vertical test stand in Central Texas.
Engineers were testing the rocket before shipment to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to prepare for launch later this year with a small commercial satellite for Lockheed Martin. Activities at the vertical test stand in Briggs, Texas, include propellant loading and test-firings of the booster's four kerosene-fueled engines. The rocket was undergoing one of these test-firings on Monday when the accident occurred.
Firefly released a statement confirming the rocket "experienced an event that resulted in a loss of the stage." The company confirmed all personnel were safe and said ground teams followed "proper safety protocols."
These protocols include the immediate evacuation of the area around the test stand. For a typical test-firing at Briggs, Firefly engineers monitor activities from a control center inside a building about a quarter-mile away from the rocket. Firefly said it is assessing the condition of the test stand, and no other facilities were impacted.
Imagery posted on social media platforms showed a fireball engulfing the test stand and a column of black smoke rising into the sky over Firefly's facility roughly 40 miles north of Austin. A source told Ars that the fire appeared to have started inside the booster's engine bay.
"Regular testing is part of Firefly’s philosophy," the company said in a statement. "We test each critical component, engine, and vehicle stage to ensure it operates within our flight requirements before we ship to the launch pad. We learn from each test to improve our designs and build a more reliable system. We will share more information on the path forward at a later date."