Firefly Aerospace's Alpha Rocket in Review: Brainchild of Max Polyakov

Firefly Aerospace, founded by a Ukrainian Max Polyakov, should soon launch its Alpha rocket into low earth orbit. It can deliver up to 1,300 kg.

 Alpha Rocket and Firefly Aerospace’s Story

All-composite Alpha space vehicle, built under the supervision of a Ukrainian businessman Max Polyakov, is planned to launch in December 2020. Let's take a close look at this situation in this sphere.

This carrier is built of all-composite materials and was developed by Firefly Aerospace company situated in Austin, Texas. In 2017, this company went bankrupt, which drew Polyakov's attention. He obtained all rights for this company's property and re-established this business once again.

This process leads to a breakthrough in spacecraft building. Alpha rocket is a real pearl among all other company's creations. It's 6 feet in diameter and can carry up to 500 kg into Earth's orbit. This is enough for bringing any modern satellite into space.

Firefly Aerospace’s Perspectives

Firefly company aims to change your perception of all spacecraft building aspects. This company desires to create a low-cost service for launching rockets into space. Space tech and launching satellites aren't cheap. However, such enthusiasts as Firefly may yet change this game's rules. Launching an Alpha rocket ranges up to 15 million USD, which is a relatively small price that allows smaller companies to take their place in space.

Firefly Aerospace keeps evolving continually. It introduces new ideas and delivers more ambitious projects in the market. For example, a new rocket named Alpha 2.0 was developed for three years.

It's well-known that the United States government Air Force department created certain rocket building rules. It issues specific criteria applied during spacecraft creation, and it's needed to guarantee the spacecraft's safety and cargo delivery into space. These rules create a particular restriction for rocket developers and make the creation process a bit more complicated.

However, these rules are applicable only to metallic rockets, while Firefly's Alpha rocket is an all-composite carrier. The rocket is intended to perform all the metallic projectiles' functions with no extra money to be invested in its development.

The Inner Structure of Alpha Rocket

As for the Alpha rocket's technical characteristics, its height is about 29 meters, and the carrier consists of two parts. A payload compartment is situated at the rocket's top. It is constructed of carbon fiber composite and is designed to carry any cargo into space. The lower position of this carrier is filled with launching gear that starts the rocket into space. The whole mechanism is well designed and pretty wise. Alpha is a perfect option for those who need to send small satellites and CubeSats into LEO.

Alpha's creators keep testing it during the development process. Such a scheme eliminates all problems on the go and ensures that Alpha's final version is fine-tuned to perfection. One can hardly imagine a cheaper and more convenient space vehicle delivering small and mid-weight cargoes into Low Earth Orbit.