https://fireflyspace.com/missions/alpha-flta006/
>Firefly Aerospace has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance to resume Alpha rocket launches following the Flight 6 mishap on April 29, 2025.
>Alpha Flight 6 lifted off and ascended nominally through stage separation. Alpha’s first stage then experienced a rupture milliseconds after stage separation. The pressure wave hit Alpha’s second stage, leading to the loss of the engine’s nozzle extension and substantially reducing stage two thrust. The second stage was able to recover attitude control and continued to ascend to an altitude of 320 km until running out of propellant. The vehicle was three seconds short of achieving orbital velocity and five seconds short of the target payload deployment orbit.
>The ground-based video, onboard telemetry, post-flight empirical testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis corroborated excessive heat from Plume Induced Flow Separation as the most probable root cause of the mishap. Alpha Flight 6 flew a higher angle of attack than prior missions. Plume-induced flow separation intensified heat on the leeward side reducing structural margins, causing the booster to rupture from stage separation induced loads. Fortunately, the corrective actions are straight forward: increase thermal protection system thickness on Stage 1 and reduce angle of attack during key phases of the flight. Corrective actions have already been implemented
>With FAA approval to return to flight and corrective actions implemented, Firefly is now working to determine the next available launch window for Alpha Flight 7.
