13 January 2026 Firefly Aerospace announced its intention to put into operation a new modification of the Alpha rocket. Changes made to the design of the carrier will increase its reliability and load capacity.
Firefly Aerospace was founded in 2014 year, however, three years later, it filed for bankruptcy and put its assets up for sale. She was saved by Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist Max Polyakov, which over the next four years financed the company at more than 200 millions of dollars. Financial investments allowed Firefly Aerospace already in 2025 year to become the first private company in history, whose apparatus managed to land on the moon without any problems and fulfill all the tasks set before it. However, not all of the company's projects developed successfully. Of the six launches of the company's small Alpha rocket, only two were fully successful. Two missions were classified as partially successful, and the other two ended in missile losses, including the last run.
After a series of failed Alpha missions, the company's engineers developed a modified version of the carrier, which was named Block 2. Changes made to its design should increase the rocket's reliability and payload. The upgrade is part of Firefly's strategic growth plan, aimed at meeting the growing needs of the global launch market, and emphasizes company culture, focused on continuous improvement with an emphasis on improving safety, quality and reliability. Block version 2 will debut as part of the company's eighth mission.
The most noticeable change in Block 2 there is an increase in the size of the rocket. The length of the first degree increased from 18,4 meters to 20,1 meters, and the second degree with 6,0 meters to 6,3 meters. Battery and avionics in the Block version 2 will be replaced by a consolidated system, which is the company's own development. Firefly also modified the fuel tanks, optimizing their configuration and improving the thermal protection system. The company has not yet said how much these changes will affect the payload of the rocket. Block 1 was able to bring out 1030 kg of cargo to low orbits and up to 630 kg into sun-synchronous orbits. Block version 2 will debut as part of the company's eighth mission.
Source: https://universemagazine.com