Firefly Alpha launches Electronically Steerable Antenna

Firefly Aerospace’s fourth Firefly Alpha launch vehicle (Alpha Flight 4 – FLTA004) launched the “Fly the Lightning” mission from the Firefly SLC-2 launchpad at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on 22 December 2023, at 17:32 UTC (09:32 PST). According to Firefly Aerospace, the “Fly the Lightning” mission will deploy Lockheed Martin’s Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) payload, integrated on a Terran Orbital Nebula small satellite bus. Credit: Firefly Aerospace/Lockheed Martin/NSF