UPDATE: Firefly launches rocket from Vandenberg SFB after multiple delays

UPDATE (6 p.m.) - Firefly reports that Alpha Flight 7 has achieved orbit after lifting off at 5:50 p.m.
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UPDATE (Wednesday, March 11) - Firefly Aerospace will try again Wednesday evening to launch its Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:50 p.m.

WATCH:

The launch has been delayed multiple times since it was first scheduled to take place on February 28.

Firefly called off its launch attempt on Tuesday after off-nominal readings during fluids loading. Today, the company says it is moving forward with the launch after running additional tests on its fluid systems.
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UPDATE (5:06 p.m.) - Firefly is standing down from Tuesday evening's launch.

The aerospace company reports that its team saw off-nominal readings during fluids loading.

"We continue to be intentionally cautious with a focus on quality and reliability leading up to this test flight," Firefly said in a post on X.

A new launch date has not yet been announced.
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UPDATE (Tuesday, March 10) - Firefly's Alpha Flight 7 launch is back on. The company is now targeting liftoff for Tuesday evening with the two-hour launch window starting at 5:50 p.m.

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UPDATE (3:38 p.m.) - The Firefly launch planned for Monday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base was postponed once again. According to base officials, the decision to stand down just hours before the opening of the two-hour launch window was made "out of an abundance of caution" to investigate an out-of-range sensor reading.

No word on when a new launch date will be set.
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UPDATE (Monday, March 9) - Firefly is targeting Monday for the launch of Alpha Flight 7. The launch window will be open for two-hours starting at 5:50 p.m. About 20 minutes before liftoff, a livestream will begin @NasaSpaceflight.

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UPDATE (Friday, March 6) - Firefly is now targeting Monday, March 9, for the launch of Alpha Flight 7, with a backup launch opportunity on March 10.

The two-hour launch window will open at 5:50 p.m. A livestream of the launch will begin 20 minutes before liftoff.
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UPDATE (5:55 p.m.) - The launch of an Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday has been scrubbed due to high upper-level winds that Firefly Aerospace says exceed FAA safety parameters.

A new launch date has not yet been announced.
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UPDATE (4:49 p.m.) - Firefly is now targeting 6:43 p.m. for liftoff of its Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
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UPDATE (Sunday, March 1; 4:30 p.m.) - Firefly reports that the launch is in a hold while the range assesses high upper-level winds.

"The team is working to confirm a new T-0 for later in the window once we receive more weather data," the company said in a post on X.
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UPDATE (Saturday, Feb. 28) - Firefly is now aiming to launch Alpha Flight 7 no earlier than Sunday, March 1, with the same launch window.
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(Friday, Feb. 27, 2026) - Firefly Aerospace is planning to launch an Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday.

The two-hour launch window opens at 4:50 p.m. on Feb. 28.

In a post on X, Firefly said it is working with Vandenberg to monitor upper-level winds ahead of the launch.

The launch will be streamed live starting 20 minutes before liftoff:

This will be the seventh Alpha rocket launch. The company says its goals for the launch are to "achieve nominal first and second stage performance" and "test and validate key subsystems ahead of Alpha's Block II upgrade on Flight 8."

For its upcoming eighth flight, Firefly will be reconfiguring the Alpha rocket by increasing its length by seven feet, consolidating batteries and avionics, and improving the thermal protection system. Firefly says the new configuration will improve reliability, streamline production, and improve launch operations "to further support commercial, civil, and national security mission demand."

Flight 7 will be a test for some of these upgrades.