Questions tagged [firefly-aerospace]

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16 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is it possible to cluster aerospike rocket engines?

I do not mean multiple combusters as in the linear aerospike. I mean place multiple aerospikes next to each other. Imagine a Falcon 9 or Saturn V with aerospikes instead of conventional bell nozzles. ...
Gulango's user avatar
  • 345
14 votes
2 answers
3k views

Disposition of the Oxidizer Tank in Rockets with Autogenous Pressurization

A little while ago, Ars Technica did a big story on the Firefly rocket under development. http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/11/firefly-space-systems-charges-full-speed-toward-low-earth-orbit/2/ A ...
AlanSE's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why did the Firefly Alpha launch in September 2021 fail?

On 2 September 2021, the Firefly Alpha launch had an explosion. The reason does not appear to be available on the web. Even Firefly Space's website does not give any information as to the cause. So, ...
Starship - On Strike's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

What fire will Firefly fly, and when? (update/clarification on planned launch vehicle)

This answer from 2017-Dec-03 says: Firefly Aerospace will use an (annular) aerospike engine with their Alpha rocket. They have a planned launch in 2018. The linked Wikipedia article shows this (...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
0 votes
0 answers
72 views

What are the primary business challenges for Firefly Aerospace to capturing a large enough market share of the 1-ton payload market to be successful?

The recent CNBC video How Ex-SpaceX Engineers Are Fueling The Space Race With Firefly (linked below) is worth a watch, and notes include the following: a team comprised of industry veterans, Firefly ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k